Andrea Gálisová from BIOCEV has been awarded a prestigious Starting Grant from the European Research Council
A major success: Charles University’s First Faculty of Medicine is receiving its first prestigious European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant. It was awarded to Slovak biophysicist Andrea Gálisová, who, after completing her doctorate in Prague, also worked at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, from 2018 to 2022. As an imaging methods expert, it was there that she came across her current research topic: extracellular vesicles, which until recently were considered a kind of “cellular waste.” What is it? Why are these particles interesting?
“Extracellular vesicles are small sacs made up of cell membranes that serve for intercellular communication. In our project, we will modify them using molecular biology methods so that they can deliver drugs, imaging agents, or membrane proteins to selected tissues and cells in a targeted manner. We will also monitor the modified vesicles in a living organism (mice) using the state-of-the-art heteronuclear magnetic resonance method,” explains Gálisová, describing the contents of her ERC project.
She currently works at the Institute for Clinical and Experimental Medicine (IKEM) in Prague’s Krč district, where implements imaging methods for visualization of extracellular vesicles in mouse models, and at the BIOCEV research centre in Vestec, which is a joint facility of Charles University and the Academy of Sciences. Gálisová is a member and associate scientist of Jiří Zahradník’s Laboratory of Protein Engineering. The great atmosphere at the workplace, as experienced by both at the Weizmann campus, is confirmed by the label on the door of one of the laboratories: among the many titled academics is a certain ‘Dr. Peter Venkman’ – yes, the scientific star of the hit comedy Ghostbusters (1984)! However, Gálisová’s research is no longer mere science fiction.
Read the full interview HERE
Source: Forum - Charles University Magazine
ERC Press Release and and the full list of winners HERE
