Václav Hampl is a Professor of Physiology at Charles University's Second Medical School.
His main research interests are pulmonary and fetoplacental vascular reactivity and the mechanisms of oxygen sensing. His scientific contributions include (among others) the identification of perinatal insults, such as hypoxia, as key determinants of adult pulmonary vascular disease, and the characterization of how nitric oxide and cGMP signaling function in the pathogenesis of chronic pulmonary hypertension. He participated in identifying specific voltage-gated potassium channels (Kv1.5 and 2.1) as essential components of hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction and discovered that human fetoplacental vessels undergo similar hypoxic regulation.
V. Hampl has lectured in physiology since 1996, contributing significantly to the development of the curriculum and teaching resources for medical students. He has supervised numerous PhD students and postdocs, including international (Brazil, Austria).
Prof. Hampl had served as Rector of Charles University (2006-2014), Board member of the European University Association (EUA) (2011–2015), and Senator in the Czech Parliament (2014–2020), where he chaired the Committee on European Union Affairs.
Currently, Hampl is the Principal Investigator for a 2026–2029 grant investigating therapies for placental blood flow disturbances caused by maternal antidepressant use and smoking. He serves as an evaluator for the EUA Institutional Evaluation Programme and the Czech Science Foundation (GAČR). He has been Chair of the Board for the Charles University Endowment Fund (since 2026) and the Center for Palliative Care (since 2014).
