On Saturday, January 24, 2026, we received very sad news. At the age of 68, an important figure, a rare person, colleague, and friend, Prof. RNDr. Jaromír Pastorek DrSc., left us forever.
Professor Jaromír Pastorek graduated from the Faculty of Natural Sciences at Comenius University in Bratislava. He spent his entire professional life at the Virology Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. Here, he gradually worked his way up to become a prominent scientist of international renown. He was the director of the Virology Institute and also the president of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. He also served as the Slovak Government’s plenipotentiary for research and innovation. He was a member of the Learned Society of Slovakia, an elected member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, as well as many other scientific societies.
He was born on March 18, 1957, in Nové Zámky into a family of teachers. He spent his youth and student years in Bánovce nad Bebravou, where he graduated from the local high school. After completing his secondary education, he began studying mathematics at UPJŠ in Košice. His natural curiosity and interest in the natural sciences led him to Bratislava after a year of study in Košice, where he enrolled at the Faculty of Natural Sciences at Comenius University and graduated in biochemistry in 1982. In the same year, he joined the Department of Plant Virology at the Institute of Virology.
At the institute, he contributed significantly to the development of new molecular biology methods and founded and headed the Department of Molecular Biology. From 1992 to 2001, he served as deputy director of the institute, and from 2001 to 2009, he was its director. From 2009 to 2014, he headed the Slovak Academy of Sciences. Professor Pastorek excelled in organizational and managerial skills, as evidenced not only by the important positions he held, but also by the number of projects implemented under his leadership, the results of which significantly influenced not only scientific knowledge but also the direction of science in Slovakia.
His research initially focused on plant and animal viruses. However, his breakthrough came with the discovery of the primary structure of the newly identified enzyme carbonic anhydrase IX (CA IX) as an important marker of tumor hypoxia. This discovery, together with his wife, Professor Silvia Pastoreková, opened the door to collaboration with leading scientific institutions in the field of tumor hypoxia, including such figures as Professor Adrian Harris of Oxford University and Nobel Prize winner Sir Peter Ratcliffe.
Professor Pastorek was one of the world’s leading researchers in the field of tumor microenvironment with a specific focus on hypoxia. This is evidenced by his numerous publications (more than 280 papers), but especially by their impact, with more than 20,000 citations, which ranked him among the top Slovak scientists. He was also involved in teaching and educating young scientists, to whom he enthusiastically passed on his knowledge and rich professional experience, which he had also acquired during his study stays abroad in Great Britain and Belgium. His great effort and desire was to put the knowledge he had acquired into practice. He is the co-author of more than fifty patents in the field of carbonic anhydrase IX use in the diagnosis and treatment of hypoxic tumors.
Professor Pastorek’s life and rich scientific work went far beyond the laboratories of the Virology Institute and the Slovak Academy of Sciences, making a significant contribution to global knowledge. We will greatly miss his personality, wisdom, energy, and enthusiasm for science. His life’s work remains with us, and his closest colleagues will continue to develop it and fulfill his vision.
Jaro, you will remain in our hearts forever.
The team at the Institute of Virology, BMC SAS, v. v. i.
Photo: mabpro.sk