Biochemist Jan Konvalinka: I hate us being called a “very good East European institute”

Regular media appearances made biochemist Jan Konvalinka a well-known figure in Czechia during the Covid crisis, a period he calls the pinnacle of his professional life. A one-time vice rector at Prague’s Charles University, he is today director of the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry at the Czech Academy of Sciences – and spearheaded its establishment of an outpost in Boston this year. Just last week Professor Konvalinka announced that his IOCB, in conjunction with others, was waiving licensing fees for HIV drugs for relatively poor countries.