Prof. Silvia Pastorekova explores molecular mechanisms of cancer cell adaptation to hypoxia and acidosis with the aim to understand their contribution to cancer progression and promote their translation to clinic.
During her PhD study at the Institute of Virology, Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAS) in Bratislava, Slovakia, she generated monoclonal antibody M75 leading to identification and cloning of carbonic anhydrase (CA9), a key pH regulating enzyme induced by hypoxia in tumour tissues. The research team, which she led together with her husband and lifelong collaborator Jaromir, brought the first evidences for the role of CA9 in pH control and acquisition of pro-metastatic phenotype, and generated additional CA9-specific antibodies that are now under development for cancer therapy. She was PI of national and international projects and participated in several EU consortia dedicated to research of tumor hypoxia.
Throughout her career, she has been continuously affiliated with the Institute of Virology that later became a part of the Biomedical Research Center SAS in Bratislava, that she currrently leads as the Director General. She is also engaged in projects and activities focused on research governance and science policy advancements.
Prof. Silvia Pastorekova is recipient of several awards, including state decoration by the President Zuzana Čaputová for advancement of science in Slovakia in 2020, ESET Science Award for Outstanding Scientist in Slovakia 2022. In 2024, she was elected as an EMBO Member and in 2025, she became a member of the SAS Scientific Council.
