Matěj Červenka Receives the Via Chimica Award 2026

Matěj Červenka, a third-year student in the Chemistry programme at our faculty, has received the Via Chimica Award 2026 for his research on cation–π interactions — subtle intermolecular forces that play an important role in processes such as genetic information transfer, membrane protein stability, and receptor function in the brain.

He carried out the research in the group of Prof. Pavel Jungwirth at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences. The team experimentally demonstrated that these interactions in biological systems are stronger than previously predicted by computer simulations. The results were published in the prestigious Journal of Physical Chemistry B.

Although he has already co-authored several scientific papers, Matěj Červenka is still completing his bachelor’s degree.