Synthetic Biology Laboratory (Dr. Klára Hlouchová)












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            The Synthetic Biology Laboratory, led by Dr. Klára Hlouchová at the Department of Cell Bio
            of Science, Charles University, explores the origin and evolution of life from a molecular
            Her team bridges biology and chemistry to understand how the key molecular players of life

            proteins – emerged and evolved.

            The group investigates why life on Earth is based on exactly 20 amino acids, which make up

            proteins, and how life might function if this molecular repertoire were different.


            These questions reach beyond evolutionary biology toward synthetic biology and the design 
            cells and organisms, with potential applications in biotechnology and drug development.


            The multidisciplinary team of Klára Hlouchová studies fundamental chemical and biological 
            could explain not only how life originated on Earth, but also how it might arise elsewhere


            Klára Hlouchová earned her Ph.D. in biochemistry at Charles University and conducted postd
            at the University of Colorado Boulder and the NASA Astrobiology Institute in the United St
            of the few Czech scientists to have repeatedly received support from the Human Frontier Sc

            and in 2024 she was awarded a prestigious ERC Consolidator Grant. In the same year, she re
            Award for Promising Young Scientists in Biology.


            Photo: Petr Jan Juračka, illustration: Valerio G. Giacobelli