Author: ekkaku

The writer is Rahul Birdar, Doctoral Researcher from Molecular Systems Immunology research group.

I am excited and thankful to have been chosen as a Runner-Up in the Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition at the University of Turku on Wednesday, 5 March 2025. This experience has been thrilling, challenging, and nerve-wracking, but absolutely rewarding. As someone deeply passionate about science communication and making research accessible to the public, this competition was a golden opportunity to share my PhD research on ‘Type 1 diabetes: Solution in the immunity’.

A new method for producing blood stem cells may in the future replace voluntary bone marrow donors as a source of stem cell transplants. Four European research groups will work on developing the ground-breaking approach with support from the European Research Council (ERC). Cecilia Sahlgren, professor of cell biology at Åbo Akademi University, is taking part in the endeavor.

Our research aims to understand how immune cells – and especially dendritic cells – navigate and move according to different molecular cues in changing tissue environments.  

Gradients of extracellular signaling molecules are a fundamental concept in biology, and gradients of chemotactic cytokines, and chemokines, position cells in development, malignancy, and immunity. Chemotaxis, including gradient sensing and directional migration according to it, is especially critical for leukocytes such as the antigen-presenting dendritic cells (DCs), which need to be recruited within short time frames and to migrate directionally over long distances. Efficient, directional DC migration is crucial for a functioning immune system, and defects in DC navigation can lead to various autoimmune disorders. Same guidance clues have been shown to be utilized also by certain metastasizing cancers. Nevertheless, how chemokine gradients are regulated and maintained in vivo to ensure efficient leukocyte migration in changing conditions has remained somewhat of a mystery.

The Research Council of Finland granted EUR 12.3 million to the University of Turku in the Profi 7 call in early 2023. The international panel of experts assessed that the University’s application was of high quality and ranked it among the best applications. The Profi 7 area on immunology, Capitalising Immunity to Combat Disease or IMMUNOCAP, received a full score of 6/6 points!

Epstein-Barr virus is the founding member of the ever-growing list of oncogenic viruses and it has been linked to 2% of all cancer cases worldwide. Although better known for causing B-cell lymphomas, EBV infection has recently been associated with a subtype of gastric cancer. The definition of this molecular subtype of gastric cancer has opened the way to investigate how EBV infection leads to cancer in the gastric epithelium. Gaining this understanding will be key to developing more targeted therapies for this disease. New and effective therapies for gastric cancer are urgently needed as the prognosis is poor and mortality rates are among the highest for this type of cancer.

I had the opportunity to attend the 5th edition of the International Course on Cell Biology & Cancer on the topic “Cell and Tissue Mechanics” organized by Institut Curie from April 3rd to 7th, 2023. The course aimed to expose participants to cutting-edge concepts in the field of mechanobiology. Although a “course” on paper, all the speakers discussed ongoing and published studies from their labs, making it a perfect hybrid of textbook theory and its real-world application. The speakers had diverse backgrounds ranging from core biology to physics, and the structure of the talks allowed them to delve deep into their science, making the entire enterprise a remarkable learning experience. For me personally, it was possibly the best introduction to the application of mechanics in biology and biological systems and pertinent differential equations we biologists are so terrified of.

From Health to Cancer: Charting the Gut’s Metabolic Shift using Preclinical Mouse Models

The power of genetically engineered mouse models (GEMMs) and organoid models have radically transformed how we study cancers and the way we identify new targets for cancer treatment. These tools have provided us with a controlled environment to better understand the changes in energy production and metabolism that occur in cancer cells as they transform from a normal cell towards a cancerous state.

Medical bioinformatics combines mathematics and computer science with bioscience and medical research. The services of the Medical Bioinformatics Centre are offered especially to biomedical and molecular biology researchers who produce extensive measurement data in their research.

Rahul Birdar, a Doctoral Student in Lahesmaa Lab, wrote about his trip to yEFIS 1st Symposium (10-11 November 2022).

It was my great pleasure to attend European Federation of Immunological Societies young Immunologist Network’s (yEFIS) first-ever conference. Theme of the symposium held in Germany was Shaping the Future of Immunology in Europe.

Co-applicants Michael Courtney and Lili Li of the Neuronal Signalling Lab at Turku Bioscience have been awarded a grant from the SynGAP Research Fund (SRF) and Leon and friends e.V. to study targetable defects of SynGAP1 protein variants. Both SRF US & EU are funding this effort.