As a result of a GINOP grant aimed at the development of research infrastructure, the University of Debrecen and its consortium partners – the University of Pécs and the Biological Research Center of Szeged – have acquired new instruments also suitable for conducting international research projects. A partners altogether purchased six instruments from a total budget of HUF 985 million, of which four came to Debrecen, and one each to Szeged and Pécs.
“These instruments can fundamentally be used for imaging procedures, and it is through this function that they serve the purposes of scientific research and innovation. They can contribute to the advancement of scientific progress in terms of research in the field of cellular biology, as well as in the course of experiments with smaller animals,” József Tőzsér said on 10 October at the event where the new instruments were introduced.
According to the vice rector of the University of Debrecen responsible for health industry innovation and training development, these instruments represent the same high standard as Steinway pianos in music.
The instruments, located in the service laboratory of the Institute of Biophysics and Cellular Biology, will be used directly by 10-12 research groups at the university, and may therefore assist in the work of the entire research community of the university.
As János Szöllősi, professor at the Institute of Biophysics and Cellular Biology of the Faculty of General Medicine and head of the service laboratory, told hirek.unideb.hu, the lab is an outstanding member of the Hungarian unit of the Euro-Bioimaging consortium, a network of European imaging laboratories. As the scientific leader of the project, he was of the opinion that these state-of-the-art instruments will also become part of the assets of the Bioimaging network, which will provide more opportunities for Hungarian researchers to cooperate with their foreign colleagues.
In the framework of the GINOP grant titled "Bioimaging Network: The development and application of imaging technologies from molecules to living organisms”, the creation and coordinated operation of such instruments has been realized that will allow the examination of biomolecular interactions, cellular functional and morphological parameters from individual molecules to entire living organisms, thereby also creating an opportunity for the development of clinical therapies. The modern equipment will provide the technological background for, among other things, cancer research, for example for tests related to breast cancer.
At the closing event of the project held on Wednesday, the consortium leader University of Debrecen, as well as the other consortium partners presented the newly acquired instruments, and also provided some insights into the scientific work conducted with them.
In his lecture, Miklós Antal, professor of the University of Debrecen, talked about a field-emission scanning electron microscope, while György Vámosi, senior research fellow, discussed the capabilities a super-resolution microscope. Endre Kókai, assistant professor, gave a presentation on the confocal, high-throughput automatic microscope, while Árpád Szöőr, instructor, introduced the IVIS spectrum CT small animal imaging system. In addition to the scientists of the University of Debrecen, lectures were also given by Zsuzsanna Helyes, professor at the University of Pécs, as well as Gábor Steinbach, research fellow at the Biological Research Center of Szeged.
Press Office
