Carol Wilusz is a Professor 
of Microbiology, Immunology & Pathology and Director of the Cell & Molecular Biology Graduate Program at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado. In the spring of 2025, she was hosted by the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences. As a Fulbright Scholar, Carol conducted research on the regulation of gene expression in stem cells by RNA-binding proteins. Outside the lab, she found time for a series of unexpected adventures: paddling a dragon boat on the Vltava River in Prague, riding a paternoster lift in Zlín, and taking the Baltic Express from Prague to Gdańsk.
I struggled to decide where to spend my sabbatical and settled on Prague on a whim – it’s in the center of Europe, and at the time I was applying, I had just visited my son there while he was studying the criminal justice system for a summer. I was also attracted by the impressive range of research going on at IMG, the idea of experiencing a completely new language and culture, and the possibility of rowing on the Vltava River.
As it turned out arriving alone in January to the IMG campus in Krc was not the same as meeting my son in central Prague in June! It was dark and cold, and the IMG and student housing are in a gated compound surrounded by soviet era panelaky and the Kunratice Forest. I confess I wondered what I had signed up for, but I did not have time to explore before leaving to meet other Fulbright scholars in Trest for orientation. From there we visited the nearby town of Telc on a very foggy evening which reinforced the feeling of being transported back in time – in this case the 1500s!
During my time at IMG, I primarily worked with graduate students and their advisors, engaging them in conversations about rigor and reproducibility. I also made connections with the Open Science Support Center at Charles University, participated in a grant writing class (also at Charles University) and led a workshop for students at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry. I was surprised at how many international students are studying in Prague, and at how good their English is. The differences were not all that huge between students in Czechia and those in the US. The students are perhaps not so familiar with faculty (i.e. more reserved and respectful!) as in the US.
I was not able to get out onto the Vltava until the latter part of my time in Prague, but I found a rowing club and a Dragonboat Club, both with indoor rowing pools, and practiced indoors until the river opened at the end of March. I was so lucky to join the Prazky klub dracich lodi for their first paddle of the season, in the dark up the Vltava past Vysehrad which was lit up with music floating out over the river. I discovered that paddling and rowing are excellent activities when you don’t speak the language – you just follow the person in front of you (and if you are doing something really wrong, someone will tell you off in English)! I also joined the rowing club for a 25km row along the Vltava – with a brief stop for pivo (beer) on a sunny Saturday morning. Both clubs were very welcoming and had many non-Czech members from all over the world, most of whom spoke some English.
I was really grateful for the support of the Fulbright CZ office, especially Katerina who allowed me to join her on a trip to visit another Fulbright Scholar (Dan Mertens) in Zlin – the town build by Thomas Bata (a.k.a. the Czech Henry Ford). We took a terrifying ride in the paternoster lift and peered into Bata’s office located inside another very large lift complete with running water! I also enjoyed meeting and spending time with other Fulbright Scholars – Tuugi Chuluun and I even ran a 5k for the Memory of Nations which collects and archives testimonies of those who experienced the totalitarian regimes of the 20th and 21st centuries.
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Photo: Carol and her Fulbright fellow grantee Tuugi Chuluun at the 5k for the Memory of the Nation in Prague, Spring 2025.
At the weekends, I took full advantage of the fantastic (and incredibly cheap) public transport system to visit castles, gardens and towns outside of Prague. I think my favorite was Cesky Raj (Bohemian Paradise) where my partner and I took a four-day hike from Jicin to Turnov through the Prachov rock pillars and past several castles in various stages of ruin. There were well-posted rural paths, and the landscape is truly unique. I took some international trips as well – I met my mum in Budapest, an old college friend in Vienna, and took the Baltic Express to Gdansk. Such a treat to be able to travel by train to so many amazing cities.
I’ve now returned to Colorado and am back running the Cell & Molecular Biology Graduate Program and teaching Rigorous Research Methods, but I have many fantastic memories and am so grateful for the experience!
