Innovative in vitro and in vivo models for TME protease research
Organisation: University of Bern, Switzerland
Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Axel Rominger and Dr. Eleni Gourni
Hello, my name is Adrianna Bilińska and I am from Poland. I studied at the University of Life Science in Poznan, Poland and in July 2022 I became a Master of Science in Biotechnology. The topic of my master thesis was “Preparation of gene construct to silence SREBF1 gene expression, using CRISPR/Cas9 technology, during adipogenesis in domestic pig”. I did my Master thesis in the Department of Genetics and Animal Breeding, where additionally I had been working as a Laboratory Technician for 2 years. Moreover, I have always tried to gain more scientific experience by participating in the ERASMUS+ internship program or other internships.
Nowadays, I am a PhD student at the University of Bern in Switzerland and I am working in the Department of Nuclear Medicine at Inselspital under the supervision of PD Dr. Eleni Gourni. My work within the OncoProTools Doctoral Network will be focused on the biology and mechanisms of the Tumor Microenvironment (TME) with special distinction on Cancer Associated Fibroblasts (CAFs) and their expression of Fibroblast Activation Protein (FAP). Due to FAP overexpression in more than 90% of human stromal tumors and its less abundance in healthy tissues, radiolabeled FAP inhibitors hold great potential for in vivo tumor imaging and therapeutic applications. Preclinical in vitro and in vivo tumor models will allow me to investigate the intercellular communication in TME through FAP biological response. The main aim of the project is to evaluate if single FAP-based radiopharmaceutical could be applicable for non-invasive diagnostic and therapeutic applications for a wide variety of cancers.
