Thanks to the support of the National Institute for Cancer Research, a new research group was opened at the Biology Department of the Faculty of Medicine. The group will be led by Dr. Lenka Bešše. With her team, she will conduct research in the field of cancer immunotherapy.
In June of last year, the National Institute for Cancer Research (NICR) was established – historically the largest project in the field of cancer research in the Czech Republic. Almost 1.5 billion CZK was allocated for its activities from the National Recovery Plan and the EXCELES program of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, which will be used for a period of 3.5 years. NICR connects a total of 11 research institutions and 71 research teams operating in Prague, Brno and Olomouc. So now 72 teams.
As part of the project, in addition to supporting already established research teams, it is also planned to establish new teams and obtain top experts from abroad. Therefore, a new junior research group led by Dr. Lenka Bešše was established in June of this year.
After successful completing of her doctoral studies at the Faculty of Medicine MU, Dr. Bešše continued her scientific career as a post-doc and subsequently as the head of a research group at the Cantonal Hospital of St. Gallen in Switzerland. After working at this institution for several years, Dr. Bešše decided to return to the Czech Republic and was subsequently successful in the international selection process for the position of head of a new research group at the Biology Department at the Faculty of Medicine MU.
The newly established research group of Dr. Bešše aims to study protein homeostasis and its importance in cancer immunotherapy. Using the most modern molecular biological techniques, she will investigate the cellular mechanisms that lead to the resistance of tumors to immunotherapy and look for ways to overcome this resistance.
More information about the newly founded research group can be found on their website.
The Head of the Department of Biology, Prof. Ondřej Slabý, has been elected Academician of the Year for preclinical teaching in a student poll organized by the Medical Students Association. The award ceremony occurred during the 26th Faculty of Medicine and Medical Students Association Representative Ball. Congratulations 😊.
The head of the research group, Dr. Pavel Krejčí, spoke to Medical Tribune about developing a new drug for patients with achondroplasia, which is now in the phase 2 clinical trial.
