Dr Patrycja Kurowska from the JU Faculty of Biology has been awarded in the NAWA PHC Polonium call, which aims to promoter mobility of researchers working in Polish-French teams. They receive funding for travel expenses and accommodation in their destination countries.

As per the rules of the programme, the aim of the call for applications is to support the mobility of scientists carrying out research projects agreed and conducted jointly by applicants from Poland and partners from France. Research funding itself must be guaranteed from other sources. Applications for a joint project must be submitted simultaneously by French partners to Campus France and by Polish partners to NAWA. Only applications submitted jointly in Poland and in France are considered. Additionally, members of the research team may be members of the current research group of the project coordinator, employed in his unit or in other units forming the science and higher education system.

The aim of Dr Kurowska’s project is to study new markers of the polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and in particular describing the role of a new neuropeptide, spexin (SPX), in the regulation of functions of ovarian follicle cells. The study will be carried out using human genetic material acquired from patients diagnosed with PCOS falling into two categories: suffering from obesity and with a healthy body weight.

Due to the relationship between obesity and conditions related to birth, e.g. trouble with ovulation, implantation, PCOS and, consequently, infertility, it is necessary to learn more about new factors concerning the energetic metabolism that regulates the functioning of ovaries. In addition to bringing new knowledge about the physiology of ovaries, the project will also investigate the levels of SPX in healthy women and women diagnosed with PCOS, effectively making it a simple diagnostic criterion in PCOS cases. The new knowledge will allow for introducing treatment and prevention measures in the future. Finally, studying the molecular mechanisms of SPX will enable doctors to uinhibit its role in the organism, affectively restoring fertility to women suffering from PCOS.

The project Description of new markers in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS): expression and function of SPEXIN in human ovarian cells will be carried out in collaboration with the UMR Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements, National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environmen in Nouzilly.

Source: NAWA website