Seventy-seven participants took part in the meeting summarizing the series of webinars In vivo and in vitro studies through the eyes of team V and IX in PRA 3 – a series of meetings about intra- and inter-university collaborations, organized within the framework of the “Excellence Initiative – Research University” program. The event was held on June 21 this year in a hybrid format – twenty-five people met in Prof. Olgierd Narkiewicz’s Auditorium Primum, while fifty-three listeners participated online via the ClickMeeting platform. The events, under the patronage of the Rector of the MUG Prof. Marcin Gruchała and the honorary patronage of the Fahrenheit University, were intended for researchers from the Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk University of Technology and the University of Gdańsk, as well as researchers from other national units.

The scientific part of the meeting was hosted by specialists from the Division of Anatomy and Neurobiology at the MUG. The head of the unit, Dr. Habil. Przemysław Kowiański, Assoc. Prof., introduced the participants to the team’s area of scientific activity. This was followed by a lecture by Grażyna Lietzau, Ph.D., entitled Olfactory deficits in type 2 diabetes mellitus: the first step towards cognitive dysfunction? The next speaker was Aleksandra Rutkowska, Ph.D., who gave a lecture on the EBI2 receptor as a new target for myelin repair therapy in multiple sclerosis, while another presentation was given by Mikołaj Opiełka, on TDAG8, a pH sensing receptor, as a regulator of the immune response in the central nervous system. The last speaker was Dr. Habil. Sławomir Wójcik, who presented The influence of inhibition of the ubiquitin-proteasome system on cell populations in CNS structures – analysis of processes occurring after experimental administration of proteasome inhibitors into the ventricular system. After the presentations, the speakers were happy to answer questions from both attendees present in the auditorium and those connected remotely. All the speakers are members of Research Team 5 in Priority Research Area 3: In vivo studies on mechanism of disease and therapy.

The second part of the meeting was devoted to a summary of the cycle, presented by Natalia Literska, M.Eng. from the Bioanalytical Laboratory. Afterwards, Prof. Tomasz Bączek, the Rector’s representative for the “Excellence Initiative – Research University Program”, answered questions from participants about current activities under the IDUB program.

In the last part of the event, participants also had the opportunity to learn about the capabilities of the newly established core facility laboratories. Managers, coordinators and members of research teams presented the offerings of each unit. The first to speak was Marta Tomczyk, Ph.D. who Heads the Interdepartmental Laboratory for in vivo research. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of the unit, cooperation with the Interdepartmental in vivo Research Laboratory makes it possible to plan, perform specialized in vivo studies and analyses from various fields of experimental medicine during a single research project or preclinical study. Dr. Habil. Tomasz Śledziński, Pharm.D., Assoc. Prof. together with Alicja Sztendel, M.Sc., presented the scope of activity of the Metabolic Disorders Laboratory. The offer of the Laboratory of Metabolomic Analysis was presented by Ph.D. Wiktoria Struck-Lewicka, whereas the Environmental Pathology Imaging Laboratory of Cell Structure and Function was presented by Natalia Frankowska, M.Sc.

Organisational and substantive support for the participants in the series of meetings was provided by staff from the Administration Department for the “Excellence Initiative –Research University” Program and the “Researchers Support Centre” Office.