Young scientists selected for the Systems, Cell and Molecular Biology Fellowship Program presented their projects at the Moscow Conference on Computational Molecular Biology (MCCMB). A joint initiative of Philip Morris International Russia and the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech), the Program provides 3-year research funding for the young and ambitious.
The selection results were announced at the 10th Moscow International Conference on Computational Molecular Biology (MCCMB’21). Held every two years, the conference attracts scholars from various fields of computational, systems and molecular biology.
This year the winners included Maxim Makarenko of the A.A. Kharkevich Institute for Information Transmission Problems of RAS who presented his research on the mitochondrial genomes of sunflower.
“Crossing wild and cultivated varieties of sunflower often leads to cytoplasmic male sterility caused by mutation in the mitochondrial genome. A better understanding of this anomaly and other deviations in hybrids could help improve the quality of breeding material, such as the Jerusalem artichoke and annual sunflower, the latter commonly used to produce oil and a popular snack,” Makarenko says.
Much of young scientists’ research is directed at understanding the nature of various diseases, including genetic disorders. Sofia Mariasina, a 2021 Fellow and leading specialist with the Institute of Functional Genomics at Lomonosov Moscow State University focuses on RNA processing, or splicing.
“We have discovered a protein responsible for the methylation of the spliceosome – a ribonucleoprotein complex that excises non-coding sequences from precursor messenger RNA. Every second, numerous methylation reactions occur within each cell. A part of the messenger RNA formation process, splicing is a primary way to quickly reshuffle genetic information, which helps living organisms to adapt to a changing environment. If something goes wrong during splicing, it may cause severe disorders, such as cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease. As the outcome of our research, we expect to create a high-performance splicing analysis system which could be used to study various splicing failures and their implications and thereby prevent severe illnesses,” Mariasina says.
More presentations followed, which featured research performed by Fellows of the previous years, including Skoltech’s Aleksandra Galitsyna who has spent three years working on a model that can predict 3D chromatin model arrangement.
“I wondered whether we could build a model capable of predicting a 3D chromatin model structure and, in particular, the effect of chromatin packaging on how genetic information is read. This is an excellent opportunity to create a model that can predict potential health problems. But before we can use the model for real-life applications, we should complete the proof of concept stage. Once we make sure the model and the algorithm work for one type of data, we can try and use them for other purposes, such as clinical trials,” Aleksandra Galitsyna explains.
Every year, the Fellows receive research funding in the amount of 600,000 rubles per project per year for a term of 3 years. They are free to choose any research topic they wish and use the funds for any purpose they see fit, such as writing a paper for a peer-reviewed journal or purchasing chemicals for lab research.
According to Skoltech professor Konstantin Severinov, “candidates should comply with several basic qualification requirements, including at least two publications in international peer-reviewed journals and, importantly, first authorship of one paper, which implies heightened responsibility for the quality of research findings and experiments.”
Any scientist under 35 years of age doing research in systems, cell and molecular biology at any university in Russia is eligible to apply for the Fellowship. The winners are selected by an international expert jury. 30 young scientists have received Fellowships since the Program inception over 5 years ago. Before the COVID-19 outbreak, the Fellows used to visit PMI’s research center in Switzerland where they were shown the latest research in systems biology performed by PMI’s international team.
“By systems biology we mean a branch of science and an associated set of methods that Philip Morris International uses for research-based evaluation of its products with reduced-risk potential. Systems biology helps predict the risks and likelihood of a disease using advanced laboratory techniques and enormous computing power,” says Dmitry Ulupov, Regional Head of Scientific Engagement, Eastern Europe at Philip Morris International.
The Fellowship aims to assist young scientists in performing independent research in Russia. According to professor Mikhail Gelfand, Skoltech Vice President for Biomedical Research, “the Fellows get a chance to create a project of their own, manage the funds, and hire research staff all by themselves. All this helps develop self-reliance, an important skill which is otherwise very difficult to acquire when working in Russia.”
Head of Science Communications at Philip Morris Russia Elena Mukhacheva noted that the quality of papers submitted for the Fellowship improves with each passing year. “The Jury had to turn away really good candidates, because there were still better ones. Only one out of five or six candidates was selected. For us, this is something to be proud of, since our joint PMI-Skoltech Fellowship is indeed an appealing opportunity for talented young scientists who are eager to join the Program and do some serious research,” Elena says.
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