SoMoPro

South Moravian Program for Distinguished Researchers is co-financed by South Moravia Region and Europian Comission.  Jeho úkolem je nalákat špičkové vědce ze zahraničí, kteří chtějí spolupracovat s jihomoravskými výzkumnými institucemi na projektech v oblasti technických, lékařských a přírodních věd.

Guide for Beneficiaries is here. 

COMPSTORE

Advanced carbon@MOF composites for gas storage and separation  

• Principal Investigator: Pezhman Zarabadi Poor, Ph.D.
• Acronym:  COMPSTORE
• Implementation period: 3. 4. 2017 – 31. 3. 2020
• Budget: 207 000 EUR
• Project website: www.compstore.ceitec.cz

Project Description: 

Importance of energy storage and deployment of renewable energy usage become vital with increasing fossil-fuel consumption and rather limited natural resources. Therefore, it is critical and urgently needed to design novel materials for energy storage in various applications. In this research proposal, low-temperature techniques will be used to synthesize advanced nanomaterials including i) carbonaceous nanostructures (CNs), ii) metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), and iii) sophisticated CN@MOF composites. For the first two classes of advanced materials, the main effort and goal of COMPSTORE project is to develop methods for more facile and environment-friendly synthetic approaches. The third part of this project is devoted to combining the carbon nanomaterials and the metal-organic frameworks to improve applications and suppress disadvantages of individual components in energy storage. In silico approaches will be used for designing novel composite materials which will subsequently be developed experimentally. Theoretical methods will also be used to describe and understand the gas-binding processes at molecular level. The COMPSTORE project is designed to combine experimental and computational aspects for developing the advanced nanomaterials beyond the state-of-the-art in energy storage and gas separation.

iCART

​Improved chimeric antigen receptor T-cell designs for optimized therapy of genitically defined B-cell malignancies

• Principal Investigator:  Mgr. Veronika Mančíková, Ph.D.
• Acronym:  iCART
• Implementation period: 1. 5. 2017 – 31. 3. 2020
• Budget: 201 250 EUR 

Project Description:

The iCART project will deliver comprehensive training-through-research to a talented postdoctoral fellow in state-of-the-art genome editing techniques, advanced primary cell culture methods and in vivo analysis complemented by well-structured training in generic skills over a 2 year period. The research part of the proposal intends to set up and optimize Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, which is still being developed only to a limited extend in Europe. While achieving prolonged remissions in some difficult-to-treat patients with B-cell malignancies, CAR T-cell therapy still faces important technical issues related to laborious autologous transplant preparation, serious adverse side effects and lack of molecular markers predictive of the therapy outcome, which hamper its large-scale utilization. The proposed project aims to address the mentioned drawbacks and to focus on developing an exogenously regulated anti-CD19 CAR methodology for treatment of B-cell malignancies. Moreover, the prepared set of CAR T-cell transplants will be used for the first time to assess associations between the disease genetic drivers and the response to CAR treatment in both in vitro and in vivo disease models. By these means, the project aims to uncover novel predictive biomarkers of therapy outcome and to set the base for a more personalized CAR T-cell therapy. The expected output is to generate CAR designs for direct application in immunotherapy of genetically defined B-cell tumors. This innovative approach, in hands of local medical facilities specialized in treatment of B-cell malignancies, has a huge potential to strengthen the clinical innovation development of South Moravian Region. Thanks to the direct collaboration with University Hospital Brno, the iCART project could might have an immediate impact on medical care provided to patients and on strengthening the position of the hospital among the other clinical research institutions.

More about CAR T-cell therapy you can find here. 

Science publication of this project you can find here.

SuPerWood

Investigating the impact of cytokinins on cell wall formation for plant biomass production

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• Principal Investigator:  Mgr. Markéta Šámalová, Ph.D.
• Acronym: SuPerWood
• Implementation period:  1. 6. 2017 – 31. 5. 2020
• Budget:  207 000 EUR

Project Description: 

The proposed project brings together two complementary expertise for the development of sustainable and renewable bioenergy. Dr Samalova is an experienced researcher with exceptionally deep knowledge of the properties and functions of cell walls (CWs) that in plants constitute a high proportion of biomass and have critical functional importance. The Hejatko group in CEITEC has a long-standing research interest in exploring cytokinins (CKs) that are crucial plant hormones regulating many aspects of plant growth and development including CW. Combining the two will create a unique synergy for investigating the impact of CKs on CW formation with the possibility to modulate its quality and rate of production. That has high application potential for in plant biomass processing via advanced biotechnological applications including production of valuable chemicals or prospective second-generation biofuels. We will investigate a novel role for CKs in the regulation of CW structure and composition during CK-controlled cell differentiation in which expansins represent the direct link. We will develop a biomechanical sensing model to investigate CW properties during cell differentiation. We will use state-of-the-art techniques like Atomic Force Microscopy and Fluorescence emission-Brillouin scattering Imaging as well as innovative technologies combining artificial microRNAs with a chemically inducible system for conditional gene silencing transgene expression in the model plant species Arabidopsis thaliana. Our hypothesis promises to discover fundamentally novel regulatory mechanisms controlling plant CW properties during development. The implementation of the project supports the Biotechnology knowledge domain of the regional Smart Specialization Strategy, brings cooperation with a regional high-tech industrial partner; the Photon System Instruments, Ltd., and guarantees moving towards expanded international collaborations. The development of molecular tools for bioengineering of CW and bioenergy crops will give the fellow a clear research focus as well as provide her with the necessary experience needed for becoming an independent scientist.

Characterization of Cdk13

​Functional characterization of human Cdk13

• Principal Investigator: Mgr. Jan Herudek, Ph.D.
• Acronym:  Characterization of Cdk13
• Implementation period:  1. 6. 2017 – 31. 5. 2020
• Budget: 207 000 EUR

Project Description:

Cyclin-Dependent Kinases (CDKs) play a major role in the regulation of the cell cycle and transcription. RNA transcription is highly regulated process and CDKs dictate the phosphorylation state of the C-Terminal Domain (CTD) of RNA Polymerase II (RNAPII). Strikingly, a little is known about recently identified Cdk13 and its exact in vivo function remains elusive. Similarly to other CDKs, Cdk13 phosphorylates the CTD of RNAPII in vitro. Apart from the CTD phosphorylation, Cdk13 may have additional roles in RNA processing through interacting directly with RNA processing factors. Consistent with a plausible role in RNA processing, Cdk13 is localized in nuclear speckles, which are enriched for splicing factors. Importantly, Cdk13 has been linked to cancer and it has also been suggested that Cdk13 affects the splicing of HIV and might act as its restriction factor.

In the proposed research, I aim to identify protein interaction partners of Cdk13 by a BioID screening and I will investigate cellular substrates by applying analog-sensitive cell lines. Since Cdk13 has been linked to RNA processing, I will address potential RNA targets by RNA in vivo cross-linking and immunoprecipitation (CLIP). Last but not least, I also aim to utilize current state-of-the-art genome-editing tool CRISPR/Cas9 for endogenous gene tagging and transcriptional silencing. Based on this experimental setup, I would like to shed more light on the function of Cdk13, and thus provide another layer of understanding to transcription regulation and RNA processing.

Alzheimer´s lipids

The Protective Role of Gangliosides in Lipid-Mediated Amyloid-beta oligomerization in Alzheimer´s disease

• Principal Investigator:  Michael Christopher Owen, Ph.D. M.Sc.
• Acronym: Alzheimer´s lipids
• Implementation period:  1. 10. 2017 – 31. 5. 2020
• Budget:  183 958 EUR

Project Description: 

Neuronal membranes can enhance or prevent the formation of oligomers of the amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide, the neurotoxic species implicated in Alzheimer’s disease. However, the relation between the membrane composition and its effect on Aβ oligomerisation remains unclear. The aim of this project is to describe how gangliosides (sialic acid-containing glycosphingolipids) influence Aβ behaviour and characterize the molecular mechanism by which they prevent or accelerate Aβ oligomerisation. Gangliosides have an important role in brain development, regeneration, and the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. We have recently shown how Aβ oligomerisation can be prevented by physiological concentrations of one such ganglioside, GM1. Using state-of-the-art molecular dynamics simulation with advanced sampling techniques, coupled with single-molecule fluorescence microscopy and spectroscopy, we will investigate other neuronal gangliosides in order to provide an atomic-level understanding of their interaction with Aβ peptides. This innovative, synergistic research approach has great potential for clinical application in risks diagnostics or towards the suggestion of new treatment strategies targeting the metabolism and dietary supplementation of gangliosides. Our results will help experts in Alzheimer's disease to strengthen the biomedical and translational research in the South Moravian Region.

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This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie and it is co-financed by the South Moravian Region under grant agreement No. 665860. This article reflects only the author’s view and the EU is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.

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