Recovery and Resilience Plan of the Slovak Republic

Scholarships for Excellent PhD Students (R1)

  • Project code: 09I03-03-V02-00020
  • Investment name: Investment 3: Excellent Science
  • Component name: 9. More effective management and strengthening of funding for research, development and innovation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan of the Slovak Republic
  • Project implementation period: 01.02.2024 – 30. 06. 2026
  • Individual project No. 1: Utilization of alternative sources of zinc in nutrition and their influence on selected physiological processes in animals, Mgr. Alexandra Bombárová
  • Individual project No. 2: Identification of natural substances and their derivatives with cytotoxic effect on leukemic cells with developed multidrug resistance, Ing. Valeriia Husieva
  • Individual project No. 3: Lipid metabolism and its role in mitochondrial bioenergetics, Mgr. Ingrid Zriniová

Fellowships for Excellent Researchers R2-R4

  • Project name: Modern approaches to modulation (eradication) of bacterial biofilms
  • Project code: 09I03-03-V04-00364
  • Investment name: Investment 3: Excellent Science
  • Component name: 9. More effective management and strengthening of funding for research, development and innovation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan of the Slovak Republic
  • Activities and objectives of the project: The main objective of this project will be to find and test new suitable methods or substances to prevent, control, reduce and eradicate biofilm formation. We will focus on different broad-spectrum antimicrobial agents such as short peptides (either commercially available or secreted e.g. by different animal sources of mesenchymal stem cells – from bone marrow, adipose tissue, umbilical cord). Other alternatives would be bacteriophage or nanoparticle methods. A new possible and modern way of preventing biofilm formation and influencing Quorum Sensing could be to expose biofilms to various forms of non-ionizing radiation, such as non-thermal electromagnetic fields. These agents and approaches may represent a promising antibiofilm strategy.
  • Researcher: Mgr. Lívia Karahutová, PhD.
  • Project implementation period: 10/2024 – 06/2026

  • Project name: Automated learning devices as a form of cognitive enrichment for laying hens
  • Project code: 09I03-03-V04-00374
  • Investment name: Investment 3: Excellent Science
  • Component name: 9. More effective management and strengthening of funding for research, development and innovation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan of the Slovak Republic
  • Activities and objectives of the project: Leveraging our experience in the design and construction of a test arena for operational conditioning for laying hens, we will design, construct a prototype, and test an automated touch-screen device for laying hens providing cognitive enrichment. We will test the effect of such enrichment on the quality of the laying hen’s welfar using behavioral and physiological indices.
  • Researcher: Mgr. Katarína Pichová, PhD.
  • Project implementation period: 10/2024 – 06/2026

  • Project name: Computational modeling of neurons: HCN and calcium channels in excitability & depression
  • Project code: 09I03-03-V04-00388
  • Investment name: Investment 3: Excellent Science
  • Component name: 9. More effective management and strengthening of funding for research, development and innovation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan of the Slovak Republic
  • Activities and objectives of the project: The aim of this project is to explain the observed changes in neuronal excitability by changes at the level of ion channels, specifically HCN and voltage-gated calcium channels, using computational modelling techniques. In addition, we will investigate whether maternal depression can affect key functions of hippocampal neurons such as resonance, temporal coding or coincidence detection. The data and models will be integrated into the European research infrastructure EBRAINS. This will ensure their availability and potential use by other researchers. The project is also in line with the 3Rs principles of reducing animal testing. By combining computer modelling, multi-objective optimisation techniques and statistical methods, the project goes beyond the current state of the art. Instead of an average model, an entire population of neuronal models will be created and explored to cover biological variability. In addition, the project will make predictions that can be tested in the future.
  • Researcher: Mgr. Matúš Tomko, PhD.
  • Project implementation period: 10/2024 – 06/2026

  • Project name: Nerves leading to the heart: genetic cardiovascular disease affected by neuronal dysfunction in a model of dilated cardiomyopathy with lamina A/C mutations
  • Project code: 09I03-03-V04-00478
  • Investment name: Investment 3: Excellent Science
  • Component name: 9. More effective management and strengthening of funding for research, development and innovation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan of the Slovak Republic
  • Activities and objectives of the project: The aim of this project is to reveal the possible involvement of electrophysiological changes on the neuronal-cardiac axis and their arrhythmogenic potential in cardiomyopathy with LMNA mutations. We will use co-culture of cardiomyocytes with sympathetic neurons derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from a patient with an LMNA mutation and its isogenic control to obtain results. Cardiomyocytes and sympathetic neurons derived from iPSCs will be characterized by the target lock method to obtain electrophysiological characteristics while the arrhythmogenic potential will be induced by stimulation with a drug such as isoprotenerol. The project will provide the host organization with a cellular model of iPSCs, which is significant mainly due to their human origin and the possibility to observe the cellular mechanisms of genetically encoded pathophysiology thereby potentially promoting institutional attractiveness for new international collaborators.
  • Researcher: Mgr. Katarína Macková, PhD.
  • Project implementation period: 10/2024 – 06/2026

Capital booster for R&D support schemes

  • Project name: Capital booster for project APVV-22-0061 Molecular mechanisms of corticosteroid-monoamine signaling pathway interactions in stress-induced cardiac and neuropathologies
  • Project code: 09I03-03-V06-00004
  • Investment name: Investment 3: Excellent Science
  • Component name: 9. More effective management and strengthening of funding for research, development and innovation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan of the Slovak Republic
  • Activities and objectives of the project: Acquisition of planned infrastructure (tangible fixed assets) and its exclusive use for research and development activities of the Centre of Biosciences of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, v. v. i. during the implementation of the project APVV-22-0061 and during the implementation of further independent research and development. The aim of the project is – in line with the call – to maximise the results and outputs in the implementation of existing and new projects of the CBs SAS, v. v. i.
  • Project implementation period: 08/2024 – 07/2025

  • Project name: Kapitálový booster pre projekt APVV-22-0085 Na stope identity mitochondrálneho chloridového kanálu
  • Project code: 09I03-03-V06-00020
  • Investment name: Investment 3: Excellent Science
  • Component name: 9. More effective management and strengthening of funding for research, development and innovation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan of the Slovak Republic
  • Activities and objectives of the project: Acquisition of planned infrastructure (tangible fixed assets) and its exclusive use for research and development activities of the Centre of Biosciences of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, v. v. i. during the implementation of the project APVV-22-0085 and during the implementation of further independent research and development. The aim of the project is – in line with the call – to maximise the results and outputs in the implementation of existing and new projects of the CBs SAS, v. v. i.
  • Project implementation period: 08/2024 – 07/2025

  • Project name: Kapitálový booster pre projekt APVV-22-0071 Prevencia reprodukčného zlyhania v období pripúšťania zvierat prostredníctvom skrmovania kŕmnych aditív s vysokým obsahom PNMK
  • Project code: 09I03-03-V06-00024
  • Investment name: Investment 3: Excellent Science
  • Component name: 9. More effective management and strengthening of funding for research, development and innovation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan of the Slovak Republic
  • Activities and objectives of the project: Acquisition of planned infrastructure (tangible fixed assets) and its exclusive use for research and development activities of the Centre of Biosciences of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, v. v. i. during the implementation of the project APVV-22-0071 and during the implementation of further independent research and development. The aim of the project is – in line with the call – to maximise the results and outputs in the implementation of existing and new projects of the CBs SAS, v. v. i.
  • Project implementation period: 08/2024 – 07/2025