The European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) is a dynamic funding agency that supports collaborative research and innovation networks across Europe. COST Actions foster connections among research initiatives, empowering scientists to exchange ideas and advance their work. This not only accelerates research but also boosts careers and drives innovation. One of COST Actions, “Bench to Bedside: Transitioning Pharmacological Regulation of NRF2 in Noncommunicable Diseases,” alias BenBedPhar, attracted dr. Alicja Sznarkowska and her team from ICCVS as it aligns perfectly with their work on NRF2 isoforms.
I attended the SFRR meeting (Society for Free Radicals Research) in Istanbul where I learnt about the BenBedPhar COST Action. I met its Chair and Leaders of particular Work Packages and finally became a member myself, followed by the team – dr. Zuzanna Urban-Wójciuk and Alicja Dziadosz-Brzezińska. – Alicja says.
How exactly did it happen?
In June 2024 I took part in the European SFRR meeting in Istanbul where I presented our data on detection of NRF2 which point to the fact that majority of commercial anti-NRF2 antibodies bind to another protein that co-migrates with NRF2 in SDS-PAGE. We showed how to differentiate true signal from the unspecific one – says dr. Sznarkowska.
Unspecific antibodies are the burden to the NRF2 community thus our poster attracted a lot of attention. This is how I met prof. Antonio Cuadrado Pastor from Autonomous University of Spain, Madrid, who is the Leader of COST BenBedPhar as well as prof. Albena Dinkova-Kostova from the University of Dundee – School of Medicine, who leads the package on NRF2 pharmacological regulation and drugs– she continues.
In Istanbul I also learnt about COST Training School which was, to my surprise, organized in Poland, in Wieliczka, by prof. Anna Grochot-Przęczek from Jagiellonian University of Cracow, who leads the BenBedPhar work package 1 on tools for NRF2 research. I contacted Anna who invited me to come with a poster to Wieliczka and in the end I was encouraged to give a talk on NRF2 detection and isoforms project. Besides wonderful lectures summarizing current knowledge on NRF2/KEAP1 pathway, we were also offered a brilliant talk by Prof. Alicja Józkowicz (Jagiellonian University, Cracow) on How to write the ERC grants. COST training schools gather young researchers – PhD students and post-docs – who are especially interested in the very bases of work with NRF2 so we had a lot of lively discussions!
After getting acquainted with COST members and presenting our work, I applied for the COST membership and was soon accepted. This allowed me to go to Lizbon, Portugal for the 8th BenBedPhar Scientific meeting and give a talk on methods with which we study NRF2 isoforms. It was a wonderful journey and a very rich and inspiring meeting from which I brought new ideas and I am very grateful for the opportunity to join.
Being a part of the COST Action has been a thrilling experience. I met people investigating one protein from various angles so we could exchange perspectives and knowledge. I am looking forward to future meetings (next in Galway, Ireland in June 2025) and I recommend to everyone to search for COST Action with the agenda of their interests, as it really gives a kick of motivation!
