Publication details
The memory of Professor Zdeněk Lojda, a pioneer of Czechoslovak histochemistry and a prominent figure in Czech science
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| Year of publication | 2024 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
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| Description | Prof. MUDr. Zdeněk Lojda, DrSc., Dr. med. h.c., dr. jur. h.c. (1927-2004) was one of the founders and long-time chairman (until 2001) of the Czechoslovak (Czech) Society for Histochemistry and Cytochemistry. Prof. Z. Lojda was born on December 7, 1927, in Třebíč, a town located 35 km east of Telč. He graduated from the Medical Faculty of Charles University in Prague and first worked as an assistant at the Institute of Embryology. He founded the Angiology Laboratory, which later became the Laboratory for Histochemistry. Prof. Lojda was engaged in enzyme histochemistry, a method for the in-situ detection of enzyme activity. Together with other notable pioneers such as Prof. Peter J. Stoward (1935-2021), and Prof. Reinhart Gossrau, they developed and standardized methods for the detection of enzyme activities in tissue sections. Prof. Z. Lojda began organizing the Annual Symposium of the Czechoslovak Society of Histochemistry and Cytochemistry, titled „Progress in Basic, Applied, and Diagnostic Histochemistry“. With the development of immunohistochemical detection, he always emphasized that with this method we detect the enzyme as a protein, but this does not mean that it is related to enzyme activity, which is significant for the interpretation of the obtained results. Prof. Lojda was the recipient of several prestigious awards, including the Schleiden Medal of the Leopoldina Academy (1987), the Pioneer of Histochemistry IFSHC plaque (1988), the gold Purkyně plaque (1987), and the gold Jesenius plaque (1987). He was honored as an honorary Doctor of Medicine at the University of Halle (1990) and at the Christian University of Vienna (1993). Prof. Lojda was a member of the Executive Committee of the International Federation of Societies for Histochemistry and Cytochemistry (IFSHC, 1975–2001). As vice-rector of Charles University (1990–1994), he delivered laudations in excellent Latin. Considering the personality of prof. Lojda, we decided in 2004 to name our annual symposia of the Czech Society for Histochemistry and Cytochemistry the Lojda symposium. |