Department of Pharmacology

Vision and Mission of the Institute

The Institute of Pharmacology, Second Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, should serve as a center meeting the requirements of the 21st century; together with up-to-date education and training programs in pharmacology, it should be active in providing health care and implement the principles of personalized and rational pharmacotherapy in clinical practice. Regarding its role in research, it aims to meet the standards defined by Prof. Helena Rašková, Founder of the Institute, and become a leader in the area of research in pharmacology; besides, the Institute is to provide professional counseling and be involved in shaping health policies and legislation of the Czech Republic.

Institute’s Priorities

  • To involve the institute in clinical practice, to participate in the activities of the department of clinical pharmacology, to improve and enhance the quality of pharmacotherapy, to minimize polypharmacy and polypharmacy-associated incidence of undesirable effects, to improve patient information, and to implement the principle of concordance in clinical practice.
  • To conduct top-level research and develop cooperation with prominent research and clinical centers.
  • To offer independent pharmacoeconomic counseling in the field on health policies and pharmacoeconomics.
     

Partial objectives

We will focus on up-to-date, clinical practice-oriented education/training in pharmacology. Every effort will be made for students to master, in addition to knowledge in their specialty, rational medical reasoning and thinking, get an interdisciplinary insight to see the patient as their priority. The Institute should also be involved in postgraduate education/training in pharmacology and in running seminars for the professional community and lay people alike.

Given our commitment to becoming a top-level research center in pharmacology, we plan to be actively involved in research projects developed by the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and Charles University’s clinical centers. The Institute’s employees have extensive experience in both clinical practice and research, and have long held positions in the most prestigious clinical and research centers of the Czech Republic (Institute for Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Postgraduate Medical School, Academy of Sciences).

The Institute’s strengths include pharmacoeconomics and pharmacy policies, with its employees involved in shaping the pharmacoeconomic and health policies of both the Czech Republic and the EU (State Institute for Drug Control, Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic, and Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic).

Heads of the Institute of Pharmacology, Second Faculty of Medicine, Charles University

Prof. Helena Rašková, MD, DSc: 1955–1970
Prof. Jiří Vaněček, MD, DSc: 1970–1988
Prof. Jan Švihovec, MD, DSc: 1988–2010
Associate Professor Jaroslav Blahoš, MD, PhD: 2010
Associate Professor Martin Votava, MD, PhD: 2010–2015
Associate Professor Zoltán Paluch, MD, PhD, MBA: 2015–

Employees of the Institute of Pharmacology, Second Faculty of Medicine, Charles University

Head of the Institute: Associate Prof. Zoltán Paluch, MD, PhD, MBA
Secretary: Mrs. Jana Herzinová
Employees: Prof. Jan Švihovec, MD, DSc
Associate Professor Jaroslav Blahoš, MD, PhD
Josef Slánský, MD, CSc.
Tomáš Doležal, MD, PhD
Last update: 31. 10. 2023