Skoltech is an international graduate research-focused university that was founded by the group of world-renowned scientists in 2011. Skoltech's curriculum focuses on technology and innovation, offering Master's programs in 11 technological disciplines. Students receive rigorous theoretical and practical training, design their own research projects, participate in internships and gain entrepreneurial skills in English. The faculty is comprised of current researchers with international accreditation and achievements.

Tag Archives: Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology

Seminar: Stress-Responsive Sestrins Regulate mTOR Signaling via Two Parallel Pathways

When: 08-09-2014 13:30

Where: Beijing-1 Auditorium, China cluster, Skolkovo School of Management

Scanning electron micrograph of the Drosophila melanogaster sestrin-null mutant used to study pathways involved in oxidative stress and aging. Sestrins are a family of proteins that play key roles in regulating aging and metabolism. A sestrin-null mutant exhibits an age-dependent response to oxidative stress. Image by Thomas Deerinck, NCMIR Courtesy of cellimagelibrary.org

Which genes might protect us from aging and age-related diseases like diabetes? Meet the Sestrins, and the person who knows them up close and personal: Dr. Andrei Budanov is our guest speaker at the Skoltech seminar.

Title: «STRESS-RESPONSIVE SESTRINS REGULATE MTOR SIGNALING VIA TWO PARALLEL PATHWAYS»

When: September 8, 2014; 13.30 – 15.00

Where: Beijing-1 Auditorium, China cluster, Skolkovo School of Management

SEMINAR ABSTRACT:

Sestrins are a family of stress-responsive genes involved in the regulation of cell viability and metabolism. In his research Dr. Budanov and his collaborators have demonstrated that the major activity of Sestrins involves the regulation of mammalian Target-of-Rapamycin (mTOR) kinase, the critical controller of protein and lipid biosynthesis, cell growth and metabolism.

As they described, Sestrins work via activation of AMPK kinase and TSC1:TSC2 protein complex. As a result, Sestrins protect from aging and age-related disorders. They have recently identified a new mechanism of mTOR inhibition by Sestrins via regulation of lysosomal mTOR localization.

Dr. Andrei Budanov

SPEAKER INTRODUCTION:

Dr. Andrei Budanov is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Human and Molecular genetics at Virginia Commonwealth University. His Ph.D. project on the characterization of the Sestrin2 gene was conducted in the laboratory of Peter Chumakov at the Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology and the Cleveland Clinic.

In the following postdoctoral studies in the laboratory of Michael Karin Dr. Budanov found that Sestrins control the activity of mTOR kinase, protecting from aging and diabetes. His ongoing research focuses on the mechanisms of mTOR regulation by Sestrins, and their role in cancer and stem cell biology.

* The Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech) is a private graduate research university in Skolkovo, Russia, a suburb of Moscow. Established in 2011 in collaboration with MIT, Skoltech educates global leaders in innovation, advance scientific knowledge, and foster new technologies to address critical issues facing Russia and the world. Applying international research and educational models, the university integrates the best Russian scientific traditions with twenty-first century entrepreneurship and innovation.

Skoltech’s Academic Year Opening Ceremony

When: 01-09-2014 09:00

Where: Hypercube building, Skolkovo Innovation Center

Edward Crawley, Skoltech’s president (right), Mats Hanson, Skoltech’s dean of education and students attend the Academic Year Opening Ceremony in 2013

On September 1, Skoltech opens its doors for the new batch of Russian and international students.

The official opening ceremony of the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech) new academic year will be held on September 1, 2014 at 9 am at the Hypercube building. The university invites all to join us at the ‘Ringing the Bell’ event, which is by now a tradition (after being held for the first time last year).

More than 150 students from around the world will begin their studies at the university – or return to school. This year five educational programs of the University are officially open. Students will be studying in the following “tracks”: Energy, Space, IT, Biomedicine and Manufacturing.

As always, the institute will focus on world class education. Professors from MIT (USA), University of Cambridge (UK), University of Illinois (USA), University of California, Los Angeles (USA) and other leading institutions will teach at Skoltech As for the students, they all hold bachelor and specialist degrees from leading Russian universities such as MIPT, MSU, Bauman MSTU, St. Petersburg State University, and others. A number of students are graduates of foreign universities with an outstanding reputation – University of Pennsylvania (USA), Vienna University of Technology (Austria) and others.

Currently, the total number of Skoltech master and PhD graduates is 176. More than a third of the students are women, and 18% are international students hailing from 15 countries: Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Canada, Vietnam, Latvia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Italy, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Thailand, India and Kazakhstan. In total, more than 100 new students join Skoltech this year.

As part of the program, a special award ceremony will take place at Hypercube on September 1 to mark the achievements by outstanding students. The opening ceremony will start at 9 am at the Hypercube (Skolkovo Innovation Center).

The Best Defense Is… Skoltech holds its first ever PhD Thesis Proposals Pre-Defense

26/08/2014

PhD students in Biomed present and defend their thesis proposals for the first time in Skoltech history. Supervisors from Skoltech, Harvard Medical School, UMCG – Universitair Medisch Centrum Groningen oversaw the proceedings.

“This is very ambitious”. “Your target is to understand the entire animal kingdom”. “You have a lot of lab work ahead of you”. These are some of the appraisals, analysis and critique that Skoltech’s biomedicine doctoral candidates were subjected to on a clear autumn afternoon in a Moscow.

There was even a Frankenstein-like inquiry whether one of the students “really wants to dissect brains.” But this was the only half-joke during a long afternoon when supervisors from Skoltech, Harvard Medical School and the University of Groningen (the Netherlands)gathered in a small room – or participated via Skype.

For the first time in the university’s short history of three years, seven PhD students in Biomed (4 of whom were women) presented and defended their thesis proposals. Students will learn individually whether and how they proceed with the research projects that could earn them a PhD in biomedicine. But even without knowing the opinions of committee members – professors Konstantin Severinov, Anton Berns, Philip Khaitovich and Director of Students affairs, Bram Caplan- one conclusion can already be drawn: the best defense is defense.

Proposals for investigation in the proposals vary from ‘viruses arms race against hosts’ through the functions of brain areas to so called ‘genetic noise’ and its role as a defense system.

Seminar: ‘Host-Pathogen Interaction: Understanding The Immune Surveillance To Harness The Therapeutic Potential’

When: 28-08-2014 13:30

Where: Beijing-1 Auditorium, China cluster Skolkovo School of Management

MRSA antibiotics resistant ‘superbug’ bacteria. Image courtesy of mfablog.ca

The immune system is a complex, fascinating machine that keeps our bodies safe against external and internal enemies. Can we find new ways to harness the molecules it deploys to treat infectious diseases or autoimmune and inflammatory conditions? Prof. Srinivas Kaveri , our guest lecturer at the Skoltech seminar, has a few answers to this life and death question.

When: August 28, 2014 13.30 – 15.00

Where: Beijing-1 Auditorium, China cluster, Skolkovo School of Management

SEMINAR ABSTRACT:

Everyday, in our body, millions of cells take birth, communicate with each other, generate many substances and sometimes die. All this is done to ensure the maintenance of the homeostasis of the organism. Some of these cells have an important task – that of sentinels. The immune system through its cells and molecules protects the host against infectious pathogens (bacteria, virus, fungus, parasites) and unwanted internal invasion, such as emergence of cancers, at the same time ensuring that it does not attack the self tissues and organs.

Despite this powerful check, some pathogens can cause serious infections by escaping the immune surveillance. What strategies do these pathogens use to escape the immune surveillance?

The same system of sentinel sometimes is dysregulated and turns out to become aggressive against our own organs – leading to most dreadful autoimmune diseases such as diabetes, arthritis, hepatitis, multiple sclerosis. What are the causes for this dysregulation? How can one harness the very molecules of the immune system to treat infectious diseases or autoimmune and inflammatory conditions?

Prof. Srinivas Kaveri, our guest lecturer at the Skoltech seminar

SPEAKER INTRODUCTION:

Srinivas Kaveri received his basic formation in Veterinary Medicine in Bangalore India, and Ph.D. at the Pasteur Institute, Paris. He carried out post-doctoral research training with Professor Heinz Kohler at IDEC pharmaceuticals and University of California, San Diego, USA

Currently, Srinivas Kaveri is leading a research team at the Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers University of Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris. His team has been involved with the basic and applied aspects of research on immunopathology and immunotherapy. His research interests include: i) host-pathogen interactions, ii) exploiting the therapeutic potential of antibodies in the treatment of autoimmune and inflammatory disease, and iii) immunogenicity of therapeutics molecules such as Factor VIII.

Training for Oil & Gas Industry Specialists: Best Practices of Successful Sandstone and Carbonate Acidizing

When: 15-09-2014 12:55

Where: Skoltech

Oil and gas exploration. Image courtesy of rogtecmagazine.com

For the first time in our brief history, Skoltech will be offering and hosting a training on “Best Practices of Successful Sandstone and Carbonate Acidizing”. The training is scheduled to be hosted at Skoltech, on September 15-26, 2014. Organizers include the Skoltech Center for Hydrocarbon Recovery (aka Hydrocarbon Recovery CREI), and the Skoltech Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI) in collaboration with TRIAS – an energy consulting company.

The agenda includes two education modules: both are focused on the basics of acid impact on various seams, matrix acidizing design, best world practices and pioneering technical solutions in the field. Participants will analyze the main difficulties of using acid compositions. This will be the first time that Skoltech hosts a training on this subject which will bring together established Russian oil&gas companies and internationally renowned experts from Texas A&M University. Professors Hisham Nasr-El-Din and A. Daniel Hill will coach the training, which will be delivered in English.

September 15-19 – Module 1 – Acid treatment of sandstone reservoirs.

September 22-26 – Module 2 – Acid treatment of carbonate reservoirs.

Anyone interested is welcome to join, as long as a registration request will be sent by September 1, 2014. For furtherinformation please email at: .

Skoltech Experts about the Ebola Outbreak: “Russian and US labs already analyze the deadly new virus”

17/08/2014

Ebola virus particles. Colorized scanning electron micrograph of filamentous Ebola virus particles budding from a chronically infected VERO E6 cell (35,000x magnification). Photo courtesy of NIAID, Flickr

With West Africa reeling from the deadliest-ever Ebola outbreak, cases reported in Western Europe, and American aid workers infected the nasty virus seems on the cusp of becoming a horrifying global phenomenon. Media hype and panic mongering aside, what about some sober, scientific facts about a seemingly incurable disease? Could it be compared to the Spanish flu pandemic which wiped out five percent of the global population a century ago? We have asked Skoltech biomedicine experts to assess the situation. Here is what Professor Konstantin Severinov and doctoral researcher Anna Pavlova had to say about the outbreak that has taken the lives of more than a thousand people this year.

Q: The Ebola virus has been around for a long time. What makes this particular string particularly aggressive? Is it easier to contract or does it wreak its damage on the body more effectively?

Konstantin Severinov: “We actually do not know for how many years have Ebola been around. However, it is true that it has been endemic in certain African countries, with cases reported every year. It has been also known to affect ape populations there. In fact people who get infected often get the virus though consumption of bush meat.

“The current outbreak is unusual because of its scale. To tie the larger number of observed cases with some specific changes in the virus, one would need to perform analysis of genomes of viruses isolated from present-day victims and older isolates, for example those that are stored in several high security labs in the US and Russia. This is almost certainly being done now, but the results are not known yet, so no conclusions can be made.”

Anna Pavlova worked as a doctor before joining Skoltech: “The problem with Ebola is that it is hard and often impossible to stop the bleeding”

Anna Pavlova: “One of the top five most dangerous pathogens in the World, Ebola kills up to 90 per cent of infected humans. There is no treatment and no vaccine. The virus evades the immune system by inhibiting the early steps of activation of a type of white blood cells called neutrophil. The white blood cells serve as carriers to transport the virus throughout the entire body to places such as lymph nodes, liver, lungs, and spleen. The sad result of the infection bleeding from and into the skin, vomiting and coughing blood, or passing it urine and stool. In general, bleeding symptoms often indicate the worst prognosis. Patients ultimately die from a combination of dehydration, massive bleeding, and shock.

Q: Should people brace themselves for a world epidemic? Is this the perfect virus tsunami? Or just media hyped panic?

KS: “This virus is transmitted only upon exchange of bodily fluids (i.e., blood). In the absence of natural reservoir, which is probably some species of African bats, it cannot spread efficiently between humans particularly in countries with modern standards of medical practice. So this is a cause for concern and more research, but certainly not panic.”

AP: “At the Center of Hematology where I have worked as a doctor, I’ve witnessed firsthand the efforts to treat a lot of patients with acute leukemia who were dying of hemorrhagic syndrome. It is hard and often impossible to stop bleeding when the hemostatic system is unbalanced, decompensated and exhausted. And this is the main cause of this awful human mortality rate from Ebola.”

Q: One of World War I’s enduring and menacing legacies is the Spanish flu. Despite much talk about SARS, Marburg and other deadly viruses humanity seems to have been spared something similar in magnitude over the past hundred years. Why? Might things be different now?

KS: “Humanity is not really “spared” from the flu virus which infects humans globally on a yearly basis, mostly during cold season. The “success” (from the virus point of view) of that virus was due to several mutations that made it highly infectious. With time, the nastiness of a parasite, a virus or bacteria, tends to decrease and it is better tolerated by the host. This is due to changes both in the parasite and its host that allow for more mild interaction. So the humankind may not encounter such a hugely successful flu virus as was the Spanish flu.”

Professor Konstantin Severinov: “The current Ebola outbreak is unusual because of its scale.”

Q: Have you seen the 1990’s blockbuster film ‘outbreak’ featuring Dustin Hoffman as a fearless and selfless researcher? \

KS: Yep.

Q: Should we all stock up on biohazard suits like in that movie?

KS: “Definitely not. Certainly not in Moscow.”

* The Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech) is a private graduate research university in Skolkovo, Russia, a suburb of Moscow. Established in 2011 in collaboration with MIT, Skoltech educates global leaders in innovation, advances scientific knowledge, and fosters new technologies to address critical issues facing Russia and the world. Applying international research and educational models, the university integrates the best Russian scientific traditions with twenty-first century entrepreneurship and innovation.

Seminar: Theoretical Studies of Emerging Electronic Materials – Graphene, Topological Insulators and More

When: 18-08-2014 13:30

Where: Beijing-1 Auditorium, China cluster Skolkovo School of Management

Graphene. Image courtesy of Hinkle Group, Flickr

Graphene has been all the rave for a decade now. But what more can be achieved? Join us and our guest lecturer Prof. Oleg Yazyev for a seminar on «THEORETICAL STUDIES OF EMERGING ELECTRONIC MATERIALS: GRAPHENE, TOPOLOGICAL INSULATORS AND MORE»

When: August 18, 2014 13.30 – 15.00

Where: Beijing-1 Auditorium, China cluster Skolkovo School of Management

SEMINAR ABSTRACT:

The past decade was marked by several momentous discoveries of novel electronic materials such as graphene and topological insulators. In my talk I will highlight some of their remarkable properties and show how theoretical and computational physics can help guide us towards the future technological applications of these emerging materials. In particular, I will cover some of my past research on disorder-induced magnetism in graphene as well as on topological defects and electronic transport in this two-dimensional system. Future directions outlined in my presentation will include the search for novel topological electronic phases, platform materials for technologies beyond traditional electronics and economically viable systems for photocatalytic energy conversion.

SPEAKER INTRODUCTION:

Prof. Oleg Yazyev

Prof. Oleg Yazyev was born in Simferopol, Crimean peninsula. He obtained his degree in chemistry from Moscow State University in 2003. He then joined Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) completing his PhD thesis in 2007. Next two years he has spent as a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute of Theoretical Physics (ITP) and the Institute for Numerical Research in the Physics of Materials (IRRMA) of the same institution. In 2009-2011 he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Physics of the University of California, Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. In September 2011 he returned to EPFL starting an independent research group supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation professorship grant. In 2012 he was awarded an ERC Starting grant. His current research focuses on the theoretical and computational physics of the recently discovered Dirac fermion materials with strong emphasis on their prospective technological applications.

* The Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech) is a private graduate research university in Skolkovo, Russia, a suburb of Moscow. Established in 2011 in collaboration with MIT, Skoltech educates global leaders in innovation, advances scientific knowledge, and fosters new technologies to address critical issues facing Russia and the world. Applying international research and educational models, the university integrates the best Russian scientific traditions with twenty-first century entrepreneurship and innovation.

The Young and The Optimistic: “We Just Met the Future of Biomed”

13/08/2014

Skoltech's team of young #biomed researchers and PhD students at the International Students Science Fair in #Moscow. Left to right: Yulia Rybakova and Dmitry Ghilarov, research scientists; Olga Musharova, PhD student in Biomed

Skoltech’s team of young #biomed researchers and PhD students at the International Students Science Fair in #Moscow. From left to right: Yulia Rybakova and Dmitry Ghilarov, research scientists and Olga Musharova, biomedicine PhD student

A team of Skoltech bio-medicine researchers and PhD students got together with peers and colleagues from more than 200 countries for the International Students Science Fair. Titled “A Lift to the Future”, this was the tenth ISSF get-together since 2004 and the first ever held in Moscow.

The conference touts itself as a ‘unique platform for the exchange of ideas and the latest advances in research education’. Participants from around the world presented road-maps to solving critical issues in robotics, biomedicine, energy, and the ongoing global environmental crisis. Students from Kenya to the Philippines, from the Black Sea to Singapore, shared experiences and knowledge – and took endless selfies.

Olga Musharova, a Skoltech biomed PhD student says that “for me, as a young scientist, it was helpful to get a sense of what it feels like to be an expert in an international environment. Lots of participants had creative and unusual ways of looking at global problems. That was refreshing.“

Another young scientist, Julia Piskunova, was brimming with optimism. “I have a feeling that most of the guys we’ve met here will be leading scientists in the near future.”

And the young women?

“Us too. Naturally.”

The Skoltech team of young biomedicine researchers and PhD students at the International Students Science Fair in Moscow.

The Skoltech biomed researchers at the International Students Science Fair in Moscow.

Yulia Rybakova and Dmitry Ghilarov at ISSF 2014.