The aim of the project entitled "Differentiation of metabolic profiles of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains isolated from the respiratory tract of adult cystic fibrosis patients using phenotypic microarray technique" by Anna Koryszewska-Bagińska, MD, PhD, from the Department of Medical Biology, is to evaluate the degree of metabolic differentiation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains isolated from cystic fibrosis patients at different stages of the disease. This will allow us to estimate the relationship between the evolution of strains leading to the acquisition of multidrug resistance, a mucosal phenotype and the ability to form biofilms, and their metabolic properties, with respect to their ability to utilize specific carbon and nitrogen sources. Confirmation of the research hypothesis will be important not only for the understanding of the pathogenesis itself, but may also open the perspective for the development of new drugs to combat these pathogenic microorganisms.
The author of the project entitled "MicroRNA expression profile in cerebrospinal fluid as a potential marker of clinically aggressive variant of vestibular schwannoma" is Małgorzata Litwiniuk-Kosmala, MD, PhD, from the Chair and Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, UCC MUW. Her study will focus on identifying miRNA profiles in PMR typical for an aggressive variant of vestibular schwannoma. This will allow for a better understanding of the biology of this cancer and consequently allow for the identification of patients who require early surgical intervention. It may also contribute to the development of new non-surgical treatments for this type of tumor.
Whereas Pawel Siudem, MD, PhD, of the Department of Physical Chemistry will receive funding for "In silico vs in vitro experiment in search of natural Aurora A kinase inhibitors." Aurora kinase A is one of the serine/threonine kinases that control the processes of mitosis and meiosis. In the literature, its overexpression (excess, overproduction) is often linked to the occurrence of various cancers. The search for compounds that can inhibit the overexpression of this protein is one of the strategy that is a field of research in the pharmaceutical and medical sciences. However, most reports focus on synthetic compounds. Within the project, a significant group will be compounds of natural origin, primarily capsaicin and its derivatives capsaicinoids.