Chaperon Newsletter No. 01/2022

New article co-authored by our team members

Second primary cancers (SPCs) are clinically important as they may negatively influence patient survival or reveal important therapeutic side effects and general causes of cancer. Professor Hemminki and professor Liska from our team contributed to an epidemiological study focusing on liver, gallbladder and bile duct cancer in this context (click for details).

Picture of the month (new regular section of the newsletter)

We have a new year and we would like to introduce to you the winners and participants of the Nerd Art Prize 2021 in the form of a new section of the newsletter – the picture of the month. First month – first place. We’re thus introducing the winner – Vladimira Moulisova (Faculty of Medicine in Pilsen) with her picture of decellularized porcine liver scaffold with growing endothelial cells (click for details).

Invitation

The Chaperon project and Technology Center CAS invite all our Ph.D. students to a seminar Grant opportunities for young researchers at FMP and News from the Department of Science and research. February 3rd 2022, 13:00 – 15:00. More information available here

Chaperon Newsletter No. 02/2022

First Chaperon experimental article published

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers in the world, which frequently recurs after the curative resection. Several options to predict recurrence of HCC have been proposed, however, their prognostic ability is limited. More information could be found here..

PhD positions in Laboratory of Translational Cancer Genomics

The Laboratory of Translational Cancer Genomics lead by Professor Kari Hemminki invites qualified candidates to apply for a five Ph.D. positions in Cancer Research (Genomics, Transcriptomics, and Immunology). The application deadline is April 30, 2022. For more details read here..

Introducing a new course for PhD students

The new journal club-based course led by Dr. Phanindra Babu Kasi and called „MODERN TOPICS IN MEDICAL & LIFE SCIENCES“ is designed to be an accredited PhD course at the Doctoral Study (Ph.D.) of the Faculty of Medicine in Pilsen, Charles University. More information available here..

Picture of the month

We would like to introduce the winners and participants of the Nerd Art Prize like the picture of the month. Second month – Second place. Zuzana Varaliová (PhD student at 3LF UK in Prague, Department of Pathophysiology) won the 2nd place with her picture of endothelial cells. See more here..

Chaperon Twitter account

We are pleased to announce the launch of our Twitter account. We are delighted to invite you to follow us and get updates on news, seminars, and events organized by the Chaperon project team and cooperations!

Chaperon Newsletter No. 03/2022

New research paper: Incidence and survival in oral and pharyngeal cancers in Finland and Sweden through half century

Cancers of the oral cavity and pharynx encompass a heterogeneous group of cancers for which the known risk factors include smoking, alcohol consumption, and human papillomavirus (HPV) infection but their influence is site-specific with HPV mainly influencing oropharyngeal cancer. A detailed overview has been recently published in an article co-authored by our ERA Chair holder, prof. Hemminki.

Picture of the month

Introducing the winners and participants of the Nerd Art Prize, we are glad to present another picture of the month. In March it is the third place – a picture by Roshan Kumar Singh, doctoral student of Experimental Surgery, Faculty of Medicine in Pilsen. See more here..

Ph.D. positions in Laboratory of Translational Cancer Genomics

The Laboratory of Translational Cancer Genomics led by Professor Kari Hemminki invites qualified candidates to apply for a five Ph.D. positions in Cancer Research (Genomics,Transcriptomics, and Immunology). The application deadline is April 30, 2022. For more details read here..

Chaperon Newsletter No. 04/2022

Long-term incidence in hepatocellular carcinoma and intrahepatic bile duct cancer in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden, the role of Thorotrast?

We analyzed long-term incidence trends in liver cancer (including hepatocellular carcinoma and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma) to interpret the changes in terms of known risk factors and hypothesize that historical exposure to Thorotrast, a radiographic contrast medium emitting alpha particle, has changed population rates. A detailed overview has been recently published in an article co-authored by our ERA Chair holder, prof. Hemminki.

Picture of the month

Introducing the winners and participants of the Nerd Art Prize, we are glad to present another picture of the month. In April is it a picture by Tereza Fenclová, doctoral student at Faculty of Medicine in Pilsen. Her picture is a microphotograph of testicular tissue of a mouse male exposed to bisphenol S (BPS). See more here..

Scientific Blind Dates

The Chaperon ERA Research Club invites you to participate in our “Scientific Blind Dates” event for PhD students at the Charles University. On 27th of May at 2 p.m., in the seminary room in Biomedical Center, Faculty of Medicine in Pilsen. If you want to practice your scientific presentation skills together with your colleagues, register here..

Chaperon Newsletter No. 06/2022

Summer School of Experimental Surgery 2022 - Invitation to the lectures

The Chaperon ERA Research Club invites you to the lectures organized within the framework of the Summer School of Experimental Surgery 2022. You can listen to 7 interesting lectures by foreign and Czech speakers, leaflets for the lectures are attached. Registration isn’t necessary you are all welcome. See more here...

Announcing Chaperon cancer research conference in Prague – save the date!

To everyone interested in cancer research: please save the date of May 29th and 30th, 2023. The international Chaperon cancer research conference will be held in Prague (New Town Hall). More information coming soon.

Nerd Art Prize 2021 Award Ceremony

On the 7th of June 2022, the award ceremony for Nerd Art Prize 2021 took place. This ceremony was postponed last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Professor Kari Hemminki presented prizes to all the winners. More information and photos from this ceremony can be found here...

The Chaperon ERA Research Club invites you to participate in Nerd Art Prize 2022

The ERA Research Club invites you to participate in our Nerd Art Prize contest by sending us your best picture. This year we have two separate categories: Science & Research and Freestyle (i.e. any topic). Entries can be anything from a regular photo to any kind of instrumental output or visualized data, etc. The contest call is open to all Charles University students and employees. Submission deadline: September 15, 2022. You can find more information about the competition here...

Ranking of top scientists by Research.com

Research.com has released the first edition of its ranking of the top scientists in various countries and different fields of science. The ranking is based on the recognition of the scientific papers that the scientists have published. Our scientists took the top positions, see more here...

June in the sign of lectures

June was rich in professional seminars. On June 8th we and the University of West Bohemia organized a seminar “Commercialization of Applied Research Results” where five speakers presented their practical experiences. Click here for more information.

On June 28th, we held a seminar in cooperation with befriended foreign universities at "The Meeting of Reproductive Lab". The audience heard 3 interesting lectures from foreign guests. Photos from the seminar can be found in the gallery.

The last seminar called "Why Don't You Get a Job?" was dedicated especially to Ph.D. students and their future career options. The seminar was held on June 29th and photos can be found, once again, in the Chaperon gallery.

Picture of the month

We would like to introduce the winners and participants of the Nerd Art Prize 2021 as the picture of the month. In June it is a picture by Ing. Hedvika Rimnacova, a doctoral student from the Biomedical Center, Faculty of Medicine in Pilsen, Charles University. See more here...

New courses for PhD students brought to life with Chaperon

We are glad to announce that the first three courses of Chaperon’s ERA Research Club for PhD students and young researchers are now permanently available in e-learning form on CUNI’s Moodle platform. For more information about these courses click here...

Special newsletter

The Meeting of the Reproductive Lab

The Chaperon ERA Research Club invites you to the event called simply The Meeting of Reproductive Lab, officially known as the Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine. On the 28th of June at 1:30 p.m., come to the seminar room of the Biomedical Center, Faculty of Medicine in Pilsen, to learn the latest news on fertility and epigenetics of breast cancer. For more information, click here...

Why Don’t You Get A Job?

Another ERA Research Club event “Why Don’t You Get A Job?” focuses on CUNI’s PhD students and helps them find and utilize employment opportunities in the private pharmaceutic and biotechnology sector with the help of several commercially experienced speakers! So, dear PhD students, don’t miss this event on the 29th of June at 3 p.m., in the seminar room of the Biomedical Center, Faculty of Medicine in Pilsen. Click here for further information...

Chaperon Newsletter No. 08/2022

New research paper: CTNNB1 mutations, TERT polymorphism and CD8+ cell densities in resected hepatocellular carcinoma are associated with longer time to recurrence

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a fatal disease characterized by early genetic alterations in telomerase reverse transcriptase promoter (TERTp) and β-catenin (CTNNB1) genes, and immune cell activation in the tumor microenvironment. We found out that certain combination of genetic and immune factors improve patients’ survival. This finding has been recently published in an article of the Chaperon’s Laboratory of Translational Cancer Genomics.

International conference organized by the Chaperon project in cooperation with the Institute of Experimental Medicine CAS

Chaperon, in cooperation with the Institute of Experimental Medicine CAS, would like to invite you to the international conference “Current understanding of colorectal and pancreatic cancers”. The conference will be held on May 29^th and 30^th, 2023, at the historical venue of the New Town Hall, Prague. More information available online at cucap.cz

Invitation to a lecture by David Hughes

We would like to invite you to a lecture „Exploring two aspects of colorectal cancer development: genetically determined BMI at different lifestages and gut barrier dysfunction“ by Dr. David Hughes. Save the date of September 13^th, 2022, (2:30 p.m.). You can read more about Dr. Hughes here…

The Chaperon project invites you to participate in our Lab meeting

After the vacation, it is time to restart the traditional Chaperon lab meetings. In September, you are cordially invited to the meeting of the Laboratory of Quantitative Histology headed by Prof. Zbynek Tonar, M.D., Ph.D., M.Sc. We’re looking forward to seeing you on September 23^rd, 2022, at 1:30 p.m. More information…

Picture of the month

Introducing the winners and participants of the Nerd Art Prize 2021 as the picture of the month, we’re glad to present the picture of in vitro mitosis by Maria Stefania Massaro from the Laboratory of Cancer Treatment and Tissue Regeneration, Biomedical Center, Faculty of Medicine in Pilsen, Charles University. See more here...

Chaperon Newsletter No. 09+10/2022

New research paper: Long-term incidence in hepatocellular carcinoma and intrahepatic bile duct cancer in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, role of Thorotrast?

We analyzed long-term incidence trends in liver cancer (including hepatocellular carcinoma and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma) with an aim to interpret the changes in terms of known risk factors and hypothesize that historical exposure to Thorotrast, a radiographic contrast medium emitting alpha particles, has changed population rates. The NORDCAN database was used to collect cancer registry data from Denmark (DK), Finland (FI), Norway (NO) and Sweden (SE), which we used from 1953 (DK, FI and NO) and 1960 (SE) through 2019. Continue reading here…

Visit and seminar by Dr. David Hughes

A working meeting of principal representatives of research groups, collaborating together in the frame of international projects ERA Chair Chaperon and Inter-Cost, took place in Pilsen on September 12-15, 2022. On September 13, 2022, UniMeC hosted a very interesting lecture titled „Exploring two aspects of colorectal cancer development: genetically determined BMI at different life stages and gut barrier dysfunction“ which was delivered by the distinguished guest of the meeting, Dr. David Hughes. Read more here…

The IX Congress of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery

The IX Congress of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery was held in Pilsen on September 19-20. The congress was actively attended by prof. Kari Hemminki, the Chaperon ERA Chair holder, as well as by Dr. Ambrozkiewicz and Dr. Trailin from the Laboratory of Translational Cancer Genomics. More information here…

The 45th Symposium on Hormones and Cell Regulation

On October 12-15, 2022, Kari Hemminki participated in the 45th Symposium on Hormones and Cell Regulation on the topic “Sex and Signalling: the molecular basis of sex and gender medicine”, held in Mont Sainte-Odile, France. Read more here…

Starting your journey with medical resources

All CUNI staff, but especially Ph.D. students are cordially invited to participate in the course „Starting your journey with medical resources“, which will help them find, use and cite electronic literature and information resources. The course will also help you understand the publishing world to make sure your work gets the attention it deserves. The course will be organized in three lessons on Wednesdays, November 16, 23, and 30, 2022, starting at 10 a.m. Registration is required (please register at https://forms.gle/5PVySmziUjMwCbhb7).

Picture of the month

Introducing the winners and participants of the Nerd Art Prize 2021 as the picture of the month, we’re glad to present the picture of a mouse zygote by Iveta Valentová from the Faculty of Science, Charles University. See more here...

Chaperon Newsletter No. 11/2022

New research paper: Long Non-Coding RNA and microRNA Interplay in Colorectal Cancer and Their Effect on the Tumor Microenvironment

We focus on the miRNA/lncRNA/protein regulatory axes, which are known to influence the immune response in colorectal cancer. A detailed overview has been recently published by the team of the Laboratory of translational cancer genomics. Continue reading here…

Deutscher Krebskongress 2022 GERMAN CANCER CONGRESS

Our ERA Chair Kari Hemminki attended the German Cancer Congress of 2022 and gave a presentation ‘Cancer of unknown primary (CUP)—search for the primary site’. More information here…

Winners of Nerd Art Prize 2022

We are excited to announce the winners of this year’s Nerd Art Prize! This time in two categories: Research and Freestyle. And the winners are (drumroll please)… Read more here…

Review day of Chaperon project

The entire Chaperon project team met with the European Commision on 23 November for a review day. The work package leaders prepared a few words about the successes of the project so far. In the next few days we expect the European Commission to comment on these achievements.

Picture of the month

We would like to introduce the winners and participants of the Nerd Art Prize as the picture of the month. In November it is a picture of a decellularized porcine arteria by Lenka Červenková, from Biomedical Center, Faculty of Medicine in Pilsen, Charles University. See more here...

Chaperon Newsletter No. 12/2022

New review paper: Activated Hepatic Stellate Cells in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Their Role as a Potential Target for Future Therapies

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a global healthcare challenge, which affects more than 815,000 new cases every year. Activated hepatic stellate cells (aHSCs) remain the principal cells that drive HCC onset and growth. aHSCs suppress the anti-tumor immune response through interaction with different immune cells. A detailed overview has been recently published by the team of the Laboratory of translational cancer genomics. Continue reading here…

Invitation to an ERC seminar

We are preparing a seminar on ERC project calls led by prof. Zdeněk Strakoš. The seminar should be very interactive and tailored to the needs of those seriously interested in ERC – if you are one of them, please get in touch with us so that we can include you in the planning of the seminar, which is expected to take place in the second half of January. More information here…

Clinical Genetics of Cancer 2022 - Szczecin

Our ERA Chair Kari Hemminki attended the conference Clinical Genetics of Cancer 2022 in Szczecin in Poland.

The Chaperon project offers free research consultations

The Chaperon Project offers free research consultations within its ERA Research Club. Read more here…

Picture of the month - December

We would like to introduce the winners and participants of Nerd Art Prize 2021 as the picture of the month. In December it is a picture of human chromosomes by Dr. Pavel Dvořák from the Department of Biology, Faculty of Medicine in Pilsen, Charles University. See more here...