Kateřina Hoňková is a molecular biologist at the Institute of Experimental Medicine of the Czech Academy of Sciences, where she studies how air pollution affects our genes. Her lifelong passion, however, is astronomy – particularly the professional observation of variable stars, which she pursues in her spare time at the Astronomical Institute in Ondřejov.
Since 2018, she has served as the chair of the Czech Astronomical Society’s Section of Variable Stars and Exoplanets. Each year, she leads a student group at the Astronomical Expedition, guiding young astronomy and astrophysics enthusiasts in observation and image analysis. She enjoys active relaxation – cycling, yoga, mountain hiking, and windsurfing – and recharges best either swaying in a hammock with good music or driving her car.