‘The Ulam Programme makes it possible to invite the best young researchers from all around the world,’ says Prof. Łukasz Berlicki, who heads the Berlicki Lab at Wrocław University of Science and Technology.

Thanks to the Ulam Programme, Prof. Łukasz Berlicki’s team has been joined by Dr. Violeta Marković, assistant professor at the Faculty of Science of the University of Kragujevac in Serbia. The benefits are mutual. The young researcher has the opportunity to complete a postdoctoral fellowship at Berlicki Lab, and the scientific team increases its potential and can take up ever more difficult research challenges. One of them is for instance studying the possibilities of inhibiting the entry of the SARS-CoV-2 virus into the cells of the human body.

NAWA: What do the scientists at Berlicki Lab do?

Prof. Łukasz Berlicki, head of Berlicki Lab: The scientific team deals with topics in the field of bioorganic chemistry. The central area of our research involves creating complex chemical molecules whose properties resemble those of proteins. We call them miniproteins. Using computer methods, we design peptide sequences in such a way that they form well-defined three-dimensional structures. Then, we use chemical methods to obtain the planned compounds and confirm their spatial structure with a range of experimental methods. The surface of the elaborated miniproteins can be modified so as to assign to them various functions. We are working on creating new catalysts which will mimic enzymes. Another important part of the research are compounds with high biological activity, in particular inhibitors of protein-protein interactions. We carry out projects that involve developing miniproteins which will have antitumour properties and which will inhibit the entry of the SARS-CoV-2 virus into human cells.

What is the role of Dr. Violeta Marković in the team?

Dr. Violeta Marković is working on a very ambitious project which aims to create catalysts based on miniproteins. She studies the possible application of miniproteins as catalysts in reactions which produce a new carbon-carbon bond. The application of such catalysts can bring numerous benefits, because the reactions take place at room temperature, in a water solution, and can display high specificity. It is worth noting that developing such compounds is difficult on account of their complex architecture.

What opportunities and benefits come from the Ulam Programme from the perspective of a Polish scientific institution?

Unquestionably, the Ulam Programme makes it possible to carry out vital, ambitious and interesting scientific projects, because it creates the opportunity to invite the best young researchers from all over the world. New scientists in a team increase its potential, which allows it to make scientific progress faster and to take up difficult research problems. In addition, it is a perfect opportunity to engage in long-term international scientific cooperation.

What are the benefits for the foreign scientist who is invited to join a team?

Dr. Marković is interested chiefly in organic synthesis as well as in bioorganic and medical chemistry. So far, Dr. Marković has completed yearly postdoctoral studies at the Department of Chemistry and Technologies of Drugs at Sapienza University in Rome under the supervision of Prof. Bruno Botta. Her work as part of the Berlicki Lab team greatly supports her further research in the area of bioorganic chemistry. In the course of her fellowship, Dr. Marković gains much experience in peptide chemistry as well as considerable knowledge in organocatalysis – designing specific peptide catalysts and evaluating their catalytic effectiveness. A postdoctoral fellowship at Berlicki Lab is a valuable experience which will considerably contribute to the development of her scientific career.

Thank you for your time.

The Berlicki Lab scientific team headed by Prof. Łukasz Berlicki (in the centre of the photo). The team has been joined by a beneficiary of NAWA’s Ulam Programme – Dr. Violeta Marković (second from the left in the first row). Photo: Berlicki Lab.

More about Berlicki Lab: facebook.com/berlickilab