Our researcher in the field of radiobiology, Lucián Zastko, has won the prestigious international Danubius Young Scientist Award. He was jointly nominated by the Biomedical Research Center of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (BMC SAS) and the Faculty of Health Sciences at the Catholic University in Ružomberok. This is the first time a scientist from Slovakia in the field of medical sciences has received this prize in the twelve years since the award was established.
The names of the laureates were announced at a gala ceremony on 5 November 2026 during the annual Danube Rectors’ Conference at Angel Kanchev University of Ruse in Bulgaria.
The award for outstanding young scientists in the Danube region has been granted since 2014 by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Women, Science and Research and the Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe.
Each year, only one young scientist is recognised from each of the 14 countries involved in the EU Strategy for the Danube Region: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Montenegro, Croatia, Moldova, Germany, Austria, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia and Ukraine.
“I greatly appreciate this award and am delighted that it draws attention to the research we are carrying out at the radiation biodosimetry unit of the Biomedical Research Center of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Ružomberok, in collaboration with the Faculty of Health Sciences at the Catholic University and the SNP Central Military Hospital in Ružomberok. We want to gain a better understanding of how radiation used in cancer treatment affects healthy cells, and to help doctors determine who needs priority care in the event of a radiation accident,” says Lucián Zastko.
He is investigating how ionising radiation affects human cells. He is developing and validating methods that enable the radiation dose to be estimated based on chromosome damage in lymphocytes. Using a model of the human body, he simulates radiation exposure during radiotherapy and investigates how reliably the dose can be estimated when only part of the body is exposed to radiation.
A significant part of his work also involves fostering collaboration between the BMC of the SAS, the Faculty of Health Sciences at the Catholic University in Ružomberok, and the SNP Military Hospital in Ružomberok. Together, they bring together experts from the fields of radiology, genetics, oncology and medical physics so that the results of scientific research can be put to practical use in healthcare.
Dr Lucián Zastko studied molecular biology at Comenius University in Bratislava. He works at the Ružomberok branch of the Institute of Experimental Oncology at the BMC SAV and at the Faculty of Health Sciences at the Catholic University, where he is Vice-Dean for Project Activities and Head of the Department of Laboratory Diagnostic Methods in Healthcare.
Recording of the live broadcast of the awards ceremony: https://www.youtube.com/live/U4h069iJIKE
Text: E. Rybárová, BMC SAS
Photo: University of Ruse „Angel Kanchev“
