interview

A warm AutoCRAT welcome to Helen Jinton at the University of Gothenburg!

Helen Jinton

Welcome to our newest AutoCRAT member, Helen Jinton who is based at the University of Gothenburg within Professor Anders Lindhal’s research group. Danielle Nicholson at Pintail Limited asked Helen some questions to become acquainted with her and her work.

Where did you grow up? Was there something or someone there that encouraged your interest in science?

I grew up in Mölndal, just outside Gothenburg. It almost counts as a part of Gothenburg, depending on who you ask. I did not really have anyone who specifically encouraged my interest in science. It’s just something I’ve always found interesting.

What and where did you study at university?

I’m a Biomedical scientist and did my Bachelor of Science in Biomedical laboratory science at the University of Gothenburg. I have also previously studied biology at the University level. I did my bachelor’s thesis at the Institute of Biomedicine, University of Gothenburg with Kristina Vukusic as my supervisor. Kristina is one of the researchers responsible for the AutoCRAT project here in Gothenburg.

Describe your work and the techniques/methods/technologies you plan to use in your work for AutoCRAT.

Before starting to work in Anders Lindahl’s group here at Gothenburg University, I worked at the Clinical Pathology lab at Sahlgrenska University Hospital. There I learned how to perform tissue preparation, paraffin embedding, tissue sectioning and so forth. During my bachelor thesis, I learned how to perform immunohistochemistry with three different antibodies, as well as fluorescence microscopy plus image processing.

My work for AutoCRAT revolves mainly around the sheep study that is currently ongoing. I will be doing most of the laboratory work with tissue preparation, sectioning and staining. I will also photograph the individual tissue sections and process the images in a program called Image J.

In your opinion, what is exciting about working on the project?

For me, it’s very inspirational and, of course, educational to be a part of such a large project. I’m still contemplating whether I’m going to pursue a master’s degree and eventually a Ph.D. To see how these kinds of projects work is interesting and, like I said before, inspirational.

What do you like most about living in Gothenburg?

Gothenburg is the perfect large city, which still has this kind of small-town vibe. I’ve lived here my entire life and I think it’s a great city, but I may be a little bit biased.

How do you like to spend your free time?

I spend a lot of my free time at the stable. I’ve been involved with equestrian sport for a long time, and have been competing a little in show jumping. I’m also a photographer, where I mainly do landscape and nature photography. The rest is spent with family and friends.

A warm AutoCRAT welcome to Helen Jinton at the University of Gothenburg!admin2023-09-22T12:50:25+00:00

Meet Dr Matilde Balbi, working with Professor Chiara Gentili at UNIGE

Dr Matilde Balbi

We welcome our newest team member, Dr Matilde Balbi, based at the University of Genoa in Professor Chiara Gentili’s research group. Danielle Nicholson at Pintail Limited asked Matilde questions to become acquainted with her and her work.

Where did you grow up?

I was born and grew up in Genoa.

What and where did you study at university?

I am a pharmacist. I studied at the University of Genoa. As soon as I completed my internship for the experimental thesis, I realized that I would prefer to work behind a bench in a laboratory than in a pharmacy, despite the motivating work experience in a pharmacy when I was a Master’s student.

What was the nature of your PhD project? Where did you do this research?

I did a PhD in Experimental Medicine in the Pharmacology and Toxicology curriculum at the University of Genoa with a thesis entitled: “Group I metabotropic glutamatergic receptors regulating glutamate release and microglia phenotype in a murine model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis”. During my PhD, I spent some time at the University of Lausanne for a pilot research project on the role of astrocytes-derived extracellular vesicles in microglial activation. In the meantime, I have had the chance to collaborate with Prof. Uccelli’s research group to study the neuroprotective effect of extracellular vesicles secreted from mesenchymal stem cells on astrocytes in an in vitro model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

What is your role in AutoCRAT? Describe your work and the techniques/methods/technologies you plan to use.

Since the beginning of the postdoc in AutoCRAT in June, I started a new cell expansion of iMSC SD1, 2 and 3 to recover extracellular vesicles at early (P8) and late phase (P16) to analyse miRNA content. Extracellular vesicles are validated with FACS testing positive (CD90-CD105-CD44) and negative (CD31-CD34-CD45) markers. I extract extracellular vesicles from iMSC SD1 P11-12 to test their therapeutic potential on organ culture in collaboration with LUMC.

In your opinion, what is exciting about working on the AutoCRAT project?

It is exciting for a young researcher to be able to work on a European project and challenge myself with a topic far from my neuropharmacology background. The project involves many collaborations with different research groups that use different techniques and methods to try to give answers to the heterogeneity that characterizes a pathology such as osteoarthritis. The constant comparison between research groups is of great value.

What do you like most about living in (or near) Genoa?

Living in Genoa offers the possibility of having a territory that varies from the mountains to the sea. This allows you to range with the activities to do in your free time and to see contrasting landscapes in a few kilometres.

How do you like to spend your free time?

I love sports: I gladly jog along the sea, hike and ski but I also go to the swimming pool or gym, especially in autumn and winter.

Meet Dr Matilde Balbi, working with Professor Chiara Gentili at UNIGEadmin2023-08-08T14:44:25+00:00

Please meet Prof. Dr Anders Lindahl, University of Gothenburg

In cell culture, Dr Kristina Vukusic and Prof Dr Anders Lindahl, U of Gothenburg.

Prof. Dr Anders Lindahl, PI at the University of Gothenburg (UGOT) kindly answered a set of questions posed by Danielle Nicholson, Pintail Limited in advance of our upcoming meeting in Sweden. Special thanks to Dr Kristina Vukusic, UGOT who helped facilitate this.

How and when did you first become interested in cell biology?

My interest in cell biology started early in my MD studies. Subsequently, I became interested in longitudinal growth and the growth plate during my PhD studies and my experimental work was focused on chondrocyte cell cultures. I was inspired by the clinical use of cell therapy during my postdoc stay at Harvard in the mid-1980s at the Department of the late Professor Howard Green who developed skin cell culture for burn treatment.

What is it about chemistry that interests you most these days?

Since I have clinical training in Clinical Chemistry my interest is mainly in the early diagnostics of diseases and with a special interest in the identification of predictive biomarkers for osteoarthritis.

What do you see as the biggest challenge to the cell therapy and cartilage repair field right now?

The biggest challenge is to implement the new technology in clinical settings and to do well-performed clinical studies to get these new cell-based therapies registered on the market in the future. The regulatory environment for small companies and academic researchers as well as the reimbursement systems for cell therapies is however challenging.

Please describe your group and facilities.

The group now consists of 6 researchers and 2 PhD students. We collaborate The research facility is in the Department of Laboratory Medicine at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, and we have excellent facilities for molecular and cellular research in the Clinical Chemistry laboratory where the group is situated.

Your work seems incredibly varied: supervising PhD students, grant writing and admin, lab work, and travel. Which aspects do you enjoy most?

I enjoy most the scientific discussions and testing new ideas and hypotheses. It is always energizing to see the curiosity in young students’ eyes and get all these questions. They get you to feel older but wise too sometimes.

For how long have you been in Gothenburg at the university?

I have been a professor since the year 2000 and I have been working as a laboratory director for 10 years. The research facilities are excellent and the collaboration with colleagues at the Sahlgrenska Academy is both easy and rewarding. During the years the network of collaborations has grown big. The tight work of clinicians with researchers and implementation of cross-scientific new technologies such as 3D printing opens up for future personalized medicine.

Talk us through your group’s role in AutoCRAT, please.

Our role in the project is to establish a protocol for the derivation of chondrocyte progenitors from induced pluripotent stem cells, to produce cells and secreted vesicles for future regenerative treatment for patients with cartilage defects. Furthermore, we provide adult chondrocytes for comparison and their extracellular vesicles. Since we have over 30 years of experience in Autologous Chondrocyte transplantation we can help with GMP knowledge for cell therapy production. We will also conduct large animal studies here in Gothenburg in the last year of the project, testing the efficacy of our derived cells and their secreted vesicles.

What do you find most exciting about the AutoCRAT project?

The project is an international collaborative project between several institutions in Europe and the International work collaboration is very interesting and adds new technologies to the cell biology field. Among other things a robotic production system with advanced monitoring of cell cultures. We are very curious about the outcome of the final product and the therapeutic potential of secreted vesicles from different cell types.

Had you worked with Professor Mary Murphy or any of the partners before AutoCRAT?

I have known the group of Mary Murphy and other researchers in AutoCRAT for several years, but we have not had the chance to project collaborations together before. Mary is a great leader and the UGOT team is appreciating the open and familiar atmosphere in the AutoCRAT. We are happy to host the meeting and to welcome all dear collogues to our beautiful Gothenburg.

What do you like to do in your free time?

Walking in nature year-round, even in the sometimes tough Swedish weather. Skiing in the winter, mostly in Norway, and boating here on the Swedish West Coast in the summer. I live by the seaside and can´t think of living elsewhere. I love dogs and have had dogs for over 50 years although not now but I am taking care of my daughter’s dog when needed.

Please meet Prof. Dr Anders Lindahl, University of Gothenburgadmin2022-05-31T10:48:09+00:00

Meet the Women in AutoCRAT: Two Postdoctoral Researchers at UNIGE

Dr Elisabetta Palamà, UNIGE

Dr Cansu Gorgun, UNIGE

Danielle Nicholson, Pintail Limited pitched some questions to the postdocs at the University of Genova Drs Elisabetta Palamà and Cansu Gorgun to continue our series of interviews with women researchers in AutoCRAT.

Danielle: Thank you both for agreeing to communicate in this way and share your thoughts. This is very helpful to give everyone a better idea about how you work and the University of Genova’s work within AutoCRAT.

Danielle: Is osteoarthritis (OA) very prevalent in Italy?

Elisabetta: In Italy, rheumatic diseases affect 5,500,000 people, which is about 10% of the total population. OA is by far the most common disease among rheumatic patients (72.6% of rheumatic diseases). Considering that Italy has a ‘greater than 65-years-old’ population percentage among the highest in Europe (22.8%), OA is becoming an issue affecting a large part of the population. (1)

Cansu: From the country point of view, the OA burden in Italy is mostly psychical and psychological. Especially the difficulties in maintaining their activities of daily living among OA patients dramatically affects the quality of life. (2)

Danielle: How did you get interested in regenerative medicine and cell biology?

Cansu: When I was writing my bachelor thesis, I found a paper about tissue engineering and regenerative medicine and just realized that I had not known anything about cell culture. So, I decided to do my master’s degree in the Stem Cell Biology Department, and suddenly I entered the ‘Regenerative Medicine’ world. But I can say that even though I completed my PhD in Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Engineering, and I am a postdoctoral fellow in this field, still the multidisciplinary challenges in the regenerative field are quite fascinating for me, every day is a new adventure and there is always a lot to learn!

Elisabetta: Like many scientists, I have been interested in science since I was a child. I was interested in how the world works and this pushed me to undertake a scientific career. In my master’s thesis, I followed a project on the regeneration of myelin and Schwann cells. This regenerative medicine field really fascinated me, so later I looked for a PhD in Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Engineering to improve my knowledge.

Danielle: Tell us a bit about the AutoCRAT research team at the University of Genoa (UNIGE). What are your roles within it? Where are you situated?

Cansu: Our AutoCRAT research team is situated within the Department of Experimental Medicine (DIMES), UNIGE. To the AutoCRAT project, Prof. Chiara Gentili’s research team at the Department of Experimental Medicine (DIMES, https://dimes.unige.it/) at the University of Genoa brings many years of experience and expertise in cell production and animal models of regenerative medicine, including the production of and optimisation of mesenchymal stem cells and extracellular vesicles (EVs). Elisabetta and I are on Prof. Gentili’s team which currently consists of two post-doctoral researchers, one PhD student, one Master student and two Bachelor students. Our laboratory is inside a public hospital (Ospedale Policlinico San Martino) and we also have access to the research facilities of the hospital. Our research is focused on the EVs in cartilage biology and their biological function in OA treatment.

Elisabetta: I have a common research interest with Cansu. So, we work together on our experiments such as EV isolation, characterization and biological validation. Recently, we started to explore the world of proteomics, in collaboration with the proteomic facility of Policlinico San Martino.

Danielle: Do you have connections within the hospital? If so, do you have any interactions with any OA patient groups?

Cansu: Even though our laboratory is located inside the public hospital in Genova, unfortunately, we have never had contact with OA patients directly. Via clinicians, we collect patients’ cartilage samples resulting from knee replacement surgeries.

Elisabetta: We normally go into surgery rooms only to take samples, never interacting with the patients. It would be interesting and exciting to be a part of a clinical trial team and have the chance to enter this field.

Danielle: What is your favourite aspect of your work?

Cansu: For me, the best is to do experiments. The preparation, planning and waiting to see and analyze the results are the favourite aspects for me. Sometimes the results can be not so promising but that’s why it is called an experiment.

Elisabetta: I think I like every single aspect of this work, even failure. There is no growth without failure! Then of course I love to plan and carry out experiments, I like writing and reading to learn more from other groups. I also like to supervise students, especially when after so much effort and teaching, they become good, independent and interested young researchers.

Danielle: What is the most exciting aspect of AutoCRAT?

Cansu: I think it is the diversity. We have different research groups, from different backgrounds and from different countries and cultures. Most importantly the diverse, interdisciplinary aspect of AutoCRAT drives the success of the project.

Elisabetta: I totally agree with Cansu. It is always nice to create a link with different groups and combine different minds for a common aim. AutoCRAT will also have a great impact on healthcare and on science, developing new technologies and therapies.

Danielle: What do you like to do in your free time in and around Genova?

Cansu: I moved to Genoa from Turkey around four years ago and from that moment, I spent all my free time discovering food in Genoa. And honestly, I can say that I can still find new food around the city :) And of course, the time left over from the amazing Italian food is spent on discovering the Ligurian coast and hills.

Elisabetta: I moved to Genova in 2015, leaving my family in the South of Italy. Now I live with my boyfriend and our cute dachshund, Kimi :) So I normally spend my free time going for long and nice walks in and around Genova.

(1) https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Archive:Struttura_e_invecchiamento_della_popolazione#:~:text=Per%20quanto%20riguarda%20il%20numero,4%20%25)%20quelle%20pi%C3%B9%20basse.

(2) https://www.statista.com/statistics/785104/elderly-population-in-italy/

Meet the Women in AutoCRAT: Two Postdoctoral Researchers at UNIGEadmin2021-10-29T08:07:09+00:00

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