The laboratory hosted PhD students from Croatia and Poland under the European COST Action programme to develop innovative projects in the fields of health and biotechnology.
During September, the Computational Biology and Engineering Laboratory (CBEL), led by Professor Bruno L. Victor (IPLUSO), welcomed two international PhD students under the Short-Term Scientific Missions (STSM) programme of the COZYME COST Action (CA21162). These missions aim to promote researcher mobility and foster international scientific collaborations in the fields of computational biochemistry, protein design and enzyme engineering.
The first visiting researcher, Eva Josić, from the School of Medicine at the University of Zagreb (Croatia), worked on the project “Modeling GM1-Enriched Membranes to Probe Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase Interactions”. The project aimed to investigate, using advanced molecular modelling, the interactions between gangliosides and membrane proteins involved in neurologically relevant processes, contributing to a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms associated with neurodegenerative diseases.
The second visiting researcher, Deepak Wavhal, from the Institute of Organic Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences (Poland), worked on the project “Computational Design of NorA Efflux Pump Inhibitors Based on Passerini Derived Peptidomimetic Scaffold”. The study focused on applying computational methods to design and optimise new inhibitors of the NorA efflux pump, an important strategy in combating antimicrobial resistance in Staphylococcus aureus.
During their stay in Lisbon, both students benefited from the expertise and facilities of the research group, which is dedicated to developing computational approaches for the discovery of new therapeutics, as well as protein design and engineering. The projects also received guidance and support from PhD students Marta Batista and Pedro Suzano, further strengthening the collaborative and multidisciplinary environment that characterises CBEL.
The successful completion of these international missions highlights the growing international profile of IPLUSO and CBEL within European research networks, promoting the institution’s internationalisation and advancing scientific excellence with a direct impact on the fields of health and biotechnology.
