Associate Professor Volodymyr Shvadchak and graduate student Andrii Shturmak completed a one-month internship at Masaryk University (Brno, Czech Republic) supported by the EDUC R&I Fellowship program. This program was founded by the EDUC consortium of nine European universities including CNUVS and Masaryk University. It finances short-term visits to partner universities for training and to establishment of academic collaborations.
PhD student Andrii Shturmak completed an internship in the neurodegenerative diseases group, led by Dr. Amit Khairnar. Over the course of five weeks, he learned methods for working with neuronal cell cultures and laboratory mice, which are used in the study of Parkinson’s disease and will be useful for his dissertation research. In particular, he worked on three experimental projects:
- Investigation of magnesium channels in glial cell cultures, where he used Western blot, immunohistochemistry, spectrometric determination of macro- and trace elements in cells, and real-time PCR;
- Study of exosomes in a synucleinopathy model in astrocytes. He isolated exosomes using ultracentrifugation, followed by quantification and sizing using a particle analyzer and processing of their cryo-EM images;
- Development of a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease based on the induction of neurodegeneration via intranasal administration of rotenone. The presence of neurodegeneration was assessed using immunohistochemistry and behavioral tests: Open Field, MotorRator test, Grid test, Pole test, Test for Olfactory Dysfunction, and Memory tests.
Volodymyr Shvadchak visited research group of Dr. Denys Biriukov, which focuses on molecular dynamics—computer modeling of protein structures and interactions. During the visit, was initiated a collaboration in the study of the mechanisms by which α-synuclein is inhibited by protein and peptide inhibitors. The possibility of organizing internships for master’s and bachelor’s students in this field was discussed. In addition, Volodymyr Shvadchak received training in molecular dynamics methods for modeling protein interactions and analyzed how this discipline is taught at Masaryk University. This internship could serve as the basis for introducing a new elective course for students studying biochemistry focused on this field of bioinformatics.
In addition, during the internship, faculty members and master’s student Petro Hats visited the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences (IOCB Prague) and took a tour of the spectroscopy and cryo-electron microscopy departments.