27. 01. 2025
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International cooperation with leading foreign research centres and universities is crucial for our institution. It enables the sharing of knowledge, experience and the latest technologies. Joint research projects also open up new funding opportunities, support the mobility of scientists and students and increase the international prestige of our institution.
A good example is the collaboration with Stony Brook University in New York (open in a new window), where our colleague Jakub Zahumenský, a postdoctoral fellow, now a scientist and member of the Functional Organisation of Biomembranes research group, spent a short time in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine in 2019. In addition to valuable personal experience, this collaboration also enabled several joint publications, including a paper in the prestigious Molecular Cell journal. The latest study (open in a new window), published in the American Society for Microbiology journal, highlights the importance of the plasma membrane in the virulence of the human opportunistic pathogen Candida albicans and describes the newly discovered regulatory gene Cwr1.
The results reveal the critical role of the Cwr1 protein in coordinating the functions of the plasma membrane and cell wall, which are key to the pathogen’s ability to cause infections.