# About the authors

This work was originally published in Slovak for the 200th Anniversary of Johan Gregor Mendel, by Andrea Ševčovičová at the Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia. The text has been translated to English in collaboration with all authors, and put together by Samantha Hughes at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, so that everyone can enjoy and understand Genetics.

This project was supported by the Cultural and Educational Grant Agency (KEGA) of the Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth of the Slovak Republic, grant number 012UK-4/2025.

The full list of contributors are shown below:

Chapter | Chapter name | Author(s)
1. | In the beginning there was Mendel | A. Sevcovicova1
2. | How does a scientist work? | F. Cervenak1
3. | Meet DNA, the bearer of genetic information | K. Veljacikova1
4. | How do you work with DNA? | R. Sepsiova1
5. | Mutations - how they arise and what to do with them | A. Sevcovicova1
6. | How the environment can affect our genes | A. Sevcovicova1, V. Vozáriková1
7. | From epigenetics to human diseases | V. Vozáriková1
8. | Your cells are stressed too | M. Petková1
9. | When cells go crazy | V. Vozáriková1
10. | Gene therapy | F. Brazdovic2, 3
11. | Plants as an inspiration in biomedicine | T. Zajickova4, E. Gálová1
12. | When the environment changes our hormones | I. Kyzekova1, S. Hughes6
13. | Etiquette in our genes | K. Veljacikova1
14. | The principle of evolution | R. Sepsiova1
15. | DNA as evidence – forensic genetics | R. Sepsiova1
16. | Genetics in sport | K. Reichwalderova5
17. | Genetically modified organisms | F. Cervenak1
18. | The Most Common Hoaxes in Genetics - Myths & Facts | S. Kyzek1
19. | Genetics in science fiction and pop culture | F. Cervenak1
20. | How to become a model...in biology | L. Tomaska1, S. Hughes6

Affiliations:

1 Department of Genetics, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia

2 Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia

3 Laboratory of Regulation of Gene Expression, Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic

4 Department of Medical Genetics, National Oncology Institute, Bratislava, Slovakia

5 Sensible Biotechnologies, s.r.o., Bratislava, Slovakia

6 A-LIFE, Environmental Health &Toxicology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands

As you can read in chapter 2, scientists are more than what is shown in popular culture. Below you can read a bit about what each of the contributors do in their scientific career! If you want to read more about each author, you can click on the ORCID link.

Andrea Ševčovičová (ORCID 0000-0003-2912-5184) is a Professor at the Department of Genetics, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava. In her scientific work, she mainly focuses on genetic toxicology studying bioactive substances that could find potential application in medicine and the potential genotoxic effect of environmental pollutants. She has published numerous studies in prestigious international journals. During her professional career she stayed at laboratories in Switzerland, Portugal, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria.

Samantha Hughes (ORCID 0000-0001-8447-2563) is an Assistant Professor at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Her research focuses on using the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans to explore the phenotypic and genetic impact of environmental pollutants, like PFAS. Samantha has been involved in teaching throughout her career and has a passion for genetics and developmental biology, and you will still find her at the lab bench helping her internship and PhD students.

Filip Červenák (ORCID 0000-0001-6886-8883) is an assistant professor at the Department of Genetics, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University Bratislava. His scientific work is focused on the evolution of chromosomal ends and nucleo-protein structures (telomeres) that protect them from degradation and fusion. As a teacher, Filip participates in several courses and supervises students at both bachelor’s and master’s levels. He is also involved in various science-popularisation activities organized by the department.

Regina Sepšiová (ORCID 0000-0002-8709-7882) is assistant professor at the Department of Genetics, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava. She participates in teaching of genetics and molecular and cell biology, and supervises bachelor and master students in the laboratory. Her scientific work is focused on the study of telomeres and telomeric proteins of different yeast species, mechanisms of alternative telomere lengthening and evolution of telomeric sequences. She has several publications in influential scientific journals.

Katarína Veljačiková (ORCID 0000-0003-2977-1354) is a PhD student at the Department of Genetics, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava. As part of professor Tomáška's team, she researches the molecular mechanisms of communication between the nucleus and mitochondria in the eukaryotic cell. Her primary interest is nuclear-encoded mitochondrial proteins.

Veronika Vozáriková (ORCID 0000-0003-0852-9032) is a researcher at the Department of Genetics, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, where she studies the basic mechanisms of human diseases, especially focusing on Parkinson's disease. Her work helps to understand how these diseases develop. Alongside her research, Dr. Vozáriková teaches a variety of courses in areas like biology and genetics. She has published her research in well-known international journals and is recognized for her teaching qualities and graphic expertise.

Maria Petkova (ORCID 0000-0001-9415-4219) is a researcher and teacher in Department of Genetics at the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University Bratislava. Her research is primarily focused on the molecular mechanism of non-thermal plasma effects on different organisms (yeasts and crops). Recently she is interested in flow cytometry analysis on various cell types. In addition to her research, she also teaches various courses and supervises students.

Filip Brázdovič (ORCID 0000-0002-1566-5967) is a researcher at the Insitute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic. He is interested in the molecular genetics and genomics of microorganisms withe th focus on the expression of genetic information. Dr. Brázdovič does publish, when he must, but he prefers to bake cakes.

Ivana Kyzekova (ORCID 0000-0003-3116-246X) is a researcher and teacher at the Department of Genetics,Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava. In the scientific part of her work, she focuses on the genotoxic effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals, e. g. bisphenols. She has published several studies in prestigious international journals, and has worked for a few months at the laboratory of Dr. Hughes in the Netherlands.

Stanislav Kyzek (ORCID 0000-0001-8841-4002) is a researcher at the Department of Genetics, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava. His research primarily investigates the molecular mechanisms in various model organisms following non-thermal plasma treatment. Additionally, he explores the potential of non-thermal plasma to induce adaptive responses across different organisms. Dr. Kyzek has authored numerous studies published in prestigious international journals, which have received significant citation recognition.

Eliska Galova (ORCID 0000-0003-3494-4432) works at the Department of Genetics, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava. In her scientific work, she deals with various agents, their genotoxic and antigenotoxic effects, focusing on the study of bioactive substances that could find potential application in medicine and pharmacy. She has been working on secondary metabolites of the Hypericum perforatum plant for a long time, focusing on the study of the mechanism of action of these substances on various model organisms. During her professional career, she worked in laboratories in the Czech Republic, Poland and Bulgaria.

Terezia Zajickova (ORCID 0000-0002-5528-3939) works at the Department of Medical Genetics, National Oncology Institute in Bratislava. In her scientific work, she has focused on genotoxic profiling of secondary metabolites and their potential drug-drug interactions, with a particular emphasis on their impact on cancer cell behaviour. Her research explores the molecular mechanisms underlying these interactions, aiming to identify novel combinations and more effective therapeutic strategies.

Katarína Reichwalderová (ORCID 0000-0003-4280-6785) is a Laboratory Manager at Sensible Biotechnologies. In her PhD studies at the Department of Genetics, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava she focused on polymorphisms of gene and their influence on sport performance.

Ľubomír Tomáška (ORCID 0000-0003-4886-1910) is a professor of genetics with a long-standing interest in the mechanisms of nucleo-mitochondrial communication within eukaryotic cells. Specifically, alongside his younger colleagues, he employs various species of yeast to understand the maintenance of chromosomal termini (telomeres), pinpoint the evolutionary paths resulting in distinct toolkits involved in telomere protection, and uncover the role of post-translational modifications in the regulation of mitochondrial functions.