SLOVAKIA

RNDr. Dana Zakova, PhD.

Head of the National Reference Centre for Prion Diseases, Slovak Medical University, Slovakia

Dana Žáková has worked in the field of human prion diseases since 2001 and has been Head of the Department of Prion Diseases at the Slovak Medical University since 2007. Since 2024, she has also served as Head of the National Reference Centre for Prion Diseases, coordinating national reference diagnostics and surveillance of human prion diseases in Slovakia.

Her professional and research interests include genetic and sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, particularly E200K-associated genetic CJD, prion disease diagnostics, CSF biomarkers, PRNP genetic testing, and epidemiology. She is actively involved in international prion disease networks, including EuroCJD, the International CJD Surveillance Network and PrionAtRisk, and participates in international collaborative research projects.
Through her work, she is particularly interested in strengthening collaboration and communication between prion disease specialists, researchers, healthcare professionals, patients and families affected by prion diseases.