Jiří Jiráček studied Biochemistry at Charles University in Prague. He completed his PhD in 1995, focusing on metallopeptidase inhibitors in Vincent Dive’s group at the Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique (Saclay) and Université Paris XI (Orsay) in France. In 1996, he joined the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry (IOCB) in Prague, where he currently serves as the Head of a senior research group.

The group’s research focuses on all aspects of the insulin and insulin-like growth factors 1 and 2 (IGF-1 and IGF-2) system in both chemistry and biology, with a primary emphasis on the synthesis and biological and structural characterization of hormone analogs and mimetics. The overarching goal of the team is to understand the structural basis underlying the different cellular responses triggered by insulin and IGFs. They also aim to synthesize analogs and mimetics of insulin and IGFs to study their interactions with their cognate receptors and to develop new candidate compounds for the treatment of hormone-related disorders.