Martin Palus holds a PhD in Infection Biology from the University of South Bohemia in Ceske Budejovice, the Czech Republic, and is currently Head of the Laboratory of Arbovirology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, and a researcher studying emerging viral diseases at the Veterinary Research Institute. He is also a member of the International Brain Barriers Society (IBBS), the World Society for Virology (WSV) and the Czechoslovak Society for Microbiology. He is a laureate of the Otto Wichterle Award 2018 and the Prize of the President of the Czech Academy of Sciences 2021 that recognizes young scientists who produce outstanding results. His research activity consists of the study of viral infections in humans, as well as the development of diseases and their treatment options. He is interested in tick-borne encephalitis virus and related viruses transmitted by ticks and mosquitoes, as well as other viruses that require attention, such as SARS-CoV-2.