The publishing house Profi Press, s.r.o. announced its awards recognizing prominent personalities in veterinary medicine for the tenth time. This year’s awards for 2025, co-organized by the Chamber of Veterinary Surgeons, the State Veterinary Administration, the Institute for State Control of Veterinary Biologicals and Medicines, and the Veterinary Research Institute, were presented on 10 March in the Grand Hall of the House of Agricultural Education in Prague–Vinohrady.
In the opening address, the VRI Director, Doc. Martin Faldyna, had the opportunity to thank the event organizers not only for the annual presentation of these awards, but also for publishing the journals Veterinářství and Veterinární klinika, which serve as platforms for sharing information within the veterinary community. He also highlighted their importance in transferring knowledge from research laboratories into veterinary and agricultural practice. At the same time, he emphasized the importance of veterinary medicine in ensuring the safety of food of animal origin, protecting animals and safeguarding their welfare, and—as demonstrated in 2025—in protecting the country from the introduction of serious infectious diseases. Veterinary medicine—whether in education, research, or government oversight—thus plays a crucial role in ensuring the resilience of society.
Among the awardees for 2025 were also employees of the Veterinary Research Institute. The lifetime achievement award in veterinary medicine was presented to Prof. MVDr. Jiří Rubeš, CSc., a prominent figure in Czech cytogenetics and reproductive genetics. He graduated from the University of Veterinary Medicine in 1974, where he also defended his CSc. (Ph.D.) thesis in 1984. He was appointed Associate Professor (Doc.) and later Professor in the field of genetics and reproduction in 1998 and 2003, respectively. Professor Rubeš is a long-standing staff member of the Veterinary Research Institute, where he served as Head of the Department of Genetics and Reproduction from 1986 to 2017, and also as Deputy Director from 2001 to 2012. He undertook research visits in Sweden, Poland, and the USA. His scientific work focused on cytogenetics, genotoxicology, and andrology of animals and humans. He contributed to the introduction of preimplantation genetic diagnosis of embryos in the Czech Republic using the FISH method, as well as to the implementation of the “Teplice Program” and the “HAIE – Healthy Ageing in Industrial Environment” project. He is the author of more than 160 publications, with over 2,800 citations and an h-index of 25. Professor Rubeš is a member of editorial, professional, and scientific boards. In 2020, he was awarded the gold medal of the Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences for his outstanding contribution to the advancement of science and research. In September 2025, he received honorary membership in the Czech Medical Association of J. E. Purkyně. The award was granted in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the development of medical science in the fields of genetics and genomics. In November 2025, he received an award for his cooperation in advancing veterinary education, research, and professional activities at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Veterinary Sciences Brno.
The award for outstanding contribution to veterinary medicine in 2025 was presented to Doc. MVDr. Soňa Šlosárková, Ph.D, for organizing and leading the professional seminar “FMD – A Current Threat in the Czech Republic,” which she arranged in response to the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Hungary and Slovakia on 26 March 2025. The seminar was dedicated to this disease, which ranks among the most serious epizootiological threats to livestock farming in the Czech Republic and across Europe. The speakers were Dr. Semerád, Doc. Lány, and Doc. Novák. The aim of the webinar was to educate and raise awareness among the professional veterinary and agricultural community about the disease,
its causative agent, diagnostics, preparedness, and control measures that would be crucial in the event of an outbreak of FMD in the Czech Republic. As this was one of the first events organized on this topic, interest in the webinar significantly exceeded expectations—the capacity of 200 participants was filled within a short time. In response to the high demand, the nearly two-hour webinar was also made available as a recording on the VRI YouTube channel, where it has received more than 1,700 views. Information about the event and the availability of study materials was additionally displayed over 44,000 times on the institute’s social media channels, demonstrating the significant reach and practical impact of this professional activity. The link to the webinar was also shared on the Ministry of Agriculture’s website (https://mze.gov.cz/public/portal/mze/zemedelstvi/slintavka-a-kulhavka/pro-chovatele-ke-stazeni).
The award for a professional article in the “Diseases of Farm Animals” category was presented to MVDr. Jitka Matiašovicová, Ph.D., for her article “Colonisation of Newborn Piglets with a Mixture of Bacteroides Species Improves Their Gut Health and Performance“. The article, developed with financial support from the National Agency for Agricultural Research, describes an innovative approach to promoting the health of newborn piglets through the early oral administration of a new probiotic mixture of Bacteroides species. The study demonstrated that targeted early colonisation of the digestive tract with these bacteria leads to faster and more uniform development of the intestinal microbiota, significant suppression of undesirable bacteria, particularly Clostridium perfringens, and an improvement in the health of the piglets. These changes were reflected in higher piglet body weight at the end of the pre-fattening period. The tested mixture was evaluated as safe and effective, with the potential to become a new type of probiotic in pig farming, offering farmers a practical and delicate solution to improve animal performance and health while simultaneously reducing the need for antibiotic treatments.
