The Polish National agency for Academic Exchange has announced the results of a competition for a bilateral cooperation project between Poland and Austria. Two out of six of the winning entries were submitted by the Jagiellonian University scientists.
The chief aim of the bilateral staff mobility programme is to support international research projects by providing funds for travel and accommodation for scientists. Although these bilateral agreements do not provide any funding for the research projects themselves, they greatly facilitate collaboration between institutions.
The first project, led by Konrad Szajna from the JU Institute of Physics, is entitled Systematic study of ultra-thin film formation of rod-like molecules on ion beam modified substrates. It is concerned with studying extremely thin organised organic layers found in semi-conductor substrates. The molecular layers will be built out of model oligophenyl, oligoacene, and oligophene molecules. To create the substrates, the JU scientists will use titanium dioxide, a compound with well-known optoelectronic properties, the surface of which modifies its shape and structure when subjected to controlled ion sputtering. By employing various surface-sensitive techniques, such as atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) and temperature programmed desorption (TPD), the researchers will be able to describe new molecular systems with regards to their structure, forces, and thermal stability, with the aim of increasing our knowledge in the areas of molecular diffusion, adsorption, and self-organisation, which in turn will allow us to control and design better integrated circuits. Additionally, the cooperation will enable the scientists to exchange knowledge and share their experience, resulting in increased competencies.
The second projects is called Strengthening the forensic DNA intelligence tools by microbiome and epigenome analyses. Its purpose is to increase the functionality of tools used in forensic science for investigative purposes through innovative DNA analysis techniques. For many years, the research team led by Prof. Wojciech Branicki from the JU Małopolska Centre of Biotechnology has been conducting human genome studies to enable extracting information about a person’s ancestry, physical appearance, and age from a DNA sample. Such methods contribute to narrowing down the list of possible suspects of crimes, and some of them are already widely used around the world (e.g. prediction of human pigmentation traits).
According to the latest research, DNA analysis in forensic science can be further amplified by microbiome and epigenome studies. The former are being explored by the research team of Prof. Alexandra Graf (Austria). Collaboration with JU academic staff will focus on advancing complementary prediction methods of forensic DNA phenotyping, leading to safer neighbourhoods. It will also help in the area of epigenome research by providing the opportunity to discuss the process DNA methylation analysis. Dr hab. Paweł Rabiej from the Jagiellonian University, leader of the Polish research team, has acquired a great deal of experience in studying human genome when working with the MetaSUB consortium. What is more, his work within the SEQC and MACQ consortiums will allow the scientists to develop bioinformatics information standards to produce reliable and repeatable results.
The projects will be carried out both in Poland and Austria.
