Prof. Ilona Hromadnikova is the Head of Department of Molecular Biology and Cell Pathology, Third Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, located in the Institute for the Care of Mother and Child in Prague, Czech Republic. She is the founder of the field of non-invasive prenatal diagnostics based on fetal microchimerism (the presence of fetal cells and fetal nucleic acids in the maternal circulation). She introduced into clinical practice non-invasive methods of fetal sex determination, fetal RHD and RHCE genotyping in the Czech Republic. 

Prof. Ilona Hromadnikova is the laureate of the Czech Brains National Award 2022 for the outstanding research in the field of Health (LOREM). She has got several national patents and filed several international PCT patent applications. Novel methods to predict pregnancy-related complications in the first trimester of gestation were developed. These pregnancy-related complications involve gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, fetal growth restriction, small for gestational age foetuses, HELLP syndrome, preterm delivery, gestational diabetes mellitus, and pregnancy loss. The early identification of pregnancies at risk enables clinical teams to start efficient prevention if available, implement more frequent monitoring and start the therapy if necessary. The method is based on the detection of microRNA biomarkers functioning in cardiovascular system and playing a role in pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases by using real-time PCR. The method is applicable in each routine medical genetics laboratory. She also focuses on the long-term consequences of pregnancy-related complications in mother and child.