Pavel Flegontov Receives the GACR President′s Award
Pavel Flegontov, a researcher at the Faculty of Science, University of Ostrava, has received the Czech Science Foundation President′s Award. He was recognised for a project that helps improve the reliability of research into ancient human DNA and admixture between human populations.
For years, Pavel Flegontov′s team in Ostrava has been investigating what human DNA can reveal about the past. By combining genetic findings with archaeology and linguistics, the team contributes to our understanding of ancestral migrations and the links between population movements and the spread of languages.
The team sends samples from skulls and teeth to Harvard University in the United States for DNA extraction, then analyses the resulting genetic data. It also uses computer simulations to test the reliability of the methods used and identify the conditions under which they can lead to incorrect conclusions.
“Analysing and simulating data, and thinking about the mathematical relationships within them, is my favourite part of the research. Although I am not a trained mathematician, I find it incredibly interesting and fascinating,” says Pavel Flegontov of the Department of Biology and Ecology at the Faculty of Science, University of Ostrava.
His project, “Genomic formation of Indo-Europeans: New approaches to genetic admixture modelling guided by simulated data”, was funded by the Czech Science Foundation (GACR) and resulted in seven publications. Its main aim was to improve the methodology archaeogeneticists use to model admixture between ancient human populations. This contribution earned Pavel Flegontov the GACR President′s Award in the field of Medical and Biological Sciences.
“This is the first major award for me and my team, which makes it all the more meaningful. I see it as the first public recognition of our archaeogenetic research in the Czech Republic. What I value most about our project is our perseverance and the attention we paid to even the smallest statistical and archaeological details. I am fortunate to work with people who value quality over speed,” says Pavel Flegontov.
The GACR President′s Award has been presented since 2003 for outstanding results achieved through grant-funded projects. Nominations are based on recommendations from several hundred researchers who evaluate GACR-funded projects. The award recognises achievements in five fields of basic research: Technical Sciences; Physical Sciences; Medical and Biological Sciences; Social Sciences and Humanities; and Agricultural and Biological-Environmental Sciences.
“This year′s laureates demonstrate just how closely Czech science is connected to the international research community. Three of them came to the Czech Republic from abroad. The outputs of all five award-winning projects rank among the finest achievements in basic research in the Czech Republic and confirm that Czech science is an integral part of the global research community,” says Professor Milan Jirsa, the president of GACR.
The other recipients were Petr Sedlák of the Institute of Thermomechanics of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Technical Sciences; Soňa Krajčovičová of the Faculty of Science, Palacký University Olomouc, in Physical Sciences; Sebastian Ottinger of CERGE-EI in Social Sciences and Humanities; and Tomáš Větrovský of the Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Agricultural and Biological-Environmental Sciences.
Updated: 29. 09. 2026
