The aim of the Excellence Initiative – Research University programme is to enhance the extent to which the university is recognisable worldwide. Measures taken to that end include supporting international cooperation, providing assistance to research grant applications, supporting innovative research and education systems, social responsibility, globalization of science and the transfer of knowledge and technology.

Measures implemented under the qLife PRA: 

Call #1 – Research publications refund. 

The call was successful in achieving its objectives and funding interdisciplinary publications integrating research centres and carried out as international collaborations, in which innovative technologies were employed or described. 

The support was awarded to 23 applicants, academic staff and doctoral students of the Jagiellonian University Medical College. The average 5-year impact factor of the works awarded funding was 4.56, and the average score by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education was 115. 

16 proposals were submitted by the academic staff and doctoral students representing the Faculty of Medicine, 6 the Faculty of Pharmacy and 1 the Faculty of Health Sciences. 

Call #2 – Interdisciplinary biomedical collaboration – BioS PRA and qLIFE PRA. 

The call saw 30 projects submitted; the recruitment committee, based on the results of evaluation by external reviewers selected 4 projects to be awarded funding under the call. List of the winning projects:     

Principal investigator on the part of the qLIFE PRA:  

• dr hab. Monika Majewska-Szczepanik (Faculty of Health Sciences) / prof. dr hab. Krzysztof Pyrć (the Małopolska Centre of Biotechnology) – „Poly(I:C) as a potential stimulator of NK cell action in mouse model of coronavirus infection” – PLN 100,000.00.   
• dr hab. Małgorzata Tyszka-Czochara (Faculty of Pharmacy) / dr Sylwia Bobis-Wozowicz (Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology) – “Identification of molecular targets regulating metabolic maturation of human iPSCs-derived cardiomyocytes for the potential use in regenerative medicine” – PLN 100,000.00.    

Principal investigator on the part of the BioS PRA:  

• dr hab., prof. UJ Martyna Elas (Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology) / prof. dr hab. Bożena Romanowska-Dixon (Faculty of Medicine) – “Arresting growth of human uveal melanoma in the animal model” – PLN 100 000.00 
• dr n. med. Mateusz Kwitniewski (Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology) / dr hab. Grzegorz Porębski (Faculty of Medicine) – „Test of mast cell activation as a potential method for diagnosing immediate drug reactions to beta-lactam anibiotics: significance of the IgE-dependent and MRGPRX2-dependent ways” – PLN 55,000.00 

Call #3 – “Repair, modernisation, retrofitting of the existing apparatus facilities” 

Funding was granted to 11 applicants (host entities) in the overall amount of: PLN 496,915.77. 
List of the awarded proposals: 

• Department of Medicine Chemistry (Faculty of Pharmacy) – PLN 50,000.00 
• Chair in Drug Formulation Technology and Biopharmacy (Faculty of Pharmacy) – PLN 45,000.00 
• Department of Social Pharmacy (Faculty of Pharmacy) – PLN 48,040.00 
• Department of Pharmacology (Faculty of Medicine) – PLN 47,900.00 
• Chair in Physiology (Faculty of Medicine) – PLN 466,00.00 
• Jagiellonian Centre for Experimental Therapeutics (JCET) – PLN 49,307.29 
• Department of Preliminary Pharmacological Research (Faculty of Pharmacy) – PLN 48,500.00 
• Department of Organic Chemistry (Faculty of Pharmacy) – PLN 44,134.22 
• OMICRON Centre for Medical Genomics (Faculty of Medicine) – PLN 49,798.00 
• Department of Pharmaceutical Biochemistry (Faculty of Pharmacy) – PLN 47,400.00 
• Chair in Internal Medicine and Agricultural Medicine (Faculty of Medicine) – PLN 20,236.00  

List of actions/equipment purchased:

Call #4: funding opportunity for interdisciplinary teams conducting research projects featuring participation of a student of the Doctoral School of Medical and Health Sciences, JUMC.

4 proposals were entered in the call. Based on the results of evaluation by external reviewers the call committee selected 2 to be awarded funding under the call.  List of the winning candidates:  

1. Dr hab. Przemysław Błyszczuk, prof. UJ (Chair in Clinical Immunology and Transplantology) /dr hab. Małgorzata Tyszka-Czochara (Department of Food and Nutrition) titled “The effects of pharmacological modulation of cell metabolism in the course of myocarditis in the murine model.” 
2. Dr hab. Krzysztof Gil, prof. UJ (Department of Pathophysiology) /dr Gniewomir Latacz (Chair in Technology and Biotechnology of Drugs) titled “The interaction of intestinal dopaminergic and renin-angiotensin systems in regulating intestinal epithelium permeability – metabolic pathways and pharmacological implications.” 

Call #5 - Mini-grants for interdisciplinary research teams implementing projects featuring participation of prospective doctoral students as part of inter-faculty cooperation with the Doctoral School of Medical and Health Sciences at the Jagiellonian University Medical College – call results announcement on 31 March 2021. 

Purchase of equipment as part of the Polish Map of Research Infrastructure: 

Support to the Faculty of Pharmacy:  

• UHPLC/MS system 
• Device to monitor concentration of chemical substances in real-time (microDISS profiler) 

• Instrument for automated combined pKa and logD measurement (SiriusT3) 

Support to the Faculty of Health Sciences:  

• LC-MS set with a fluorescence detector and IMS-QTOF mass spectrometer 
• Ergospirometer with equipment including ECG 
• Cycle ergometer – 2 pcs  

• Two low-temperature -86°C freezers and one -40°C freezer – for storing scientifically valuable biological material.  

Support to the Faculty of Medicine: 

       With a view to accommodate the expectations of the JUMC researchers who carry out their projects at the new site of the University Hospital, the qLIFE PRA established and equipped a supporting unit. This unit comes as the first stage in building the JUMC Repository of Biological Material.  Equipment:  

• Medical freezing cabinet for storing blood plasma and cryoprecipitate 
• –86°C ultra low temperature freezer and 
• Bolarus medical refrigerator for storing blood and blood products with an on line wireless temperature monitoring system for the 3 devices combined 
• Eppendorf 5804R high-speed centrifuge with equipment  

• Virtual medical simulation workstations for the JUMC Centre of Innovative Medical Education  
   
• Automated fluorescence microscope Olympus BX63 with equipment – purchase for the JUMC Chair in Microbiology

The article on the qLife PRA website:

https://qlife.cm-uj.krakow.pl/aktualnosci/podsumowanieroku2020/?fbclid=IwAR3cRFrLzyRj0pqRt7xsNnVEdJpzjwaya1QIANqZp9NGC0DN_wahIxCV3cw