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"Every disease can be imagined as a puzzle where every piece, in our case a cell, plays its role," says one of the organizers of the Summer School of Single Cell Lucie Houdová from NTIS UWB. The research on cells, which helps experts to understand some diseases in depth, will be conducted by world leaders in the field of biology and bioinformatics in Pilsen. The most common topics will be cancer cells, immunity or the relationship between genetic information and functional molecules. The main organizers of the international summer school are the Biomedical Centre of the Faculty of Medicine of Charles University in Pilsen (LFP CU) and the NTIS Research Centre of the Faculty of Applied Sciences of UWB (NTIS UWB).

On the very first day of the summer school, research institutes and universities will announce a new form of cooperation. "The consortium will focus on biotechnologies based on iNKT cells, which are specific cells that play a role in the immune system, including cell and gene therapies leading to improved outcomes in cancer, organ and bone marrow transplants, infectious diseases and autoimmune disorders," says Lucie Houdová, describing the role of the research group. Scientists from Charles University, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen are behind the plans for the joint research.

Representatives from all of the consortium's founding organizations will be present in person at the summer school, including well-known names in the biomedical world such as Antonia Rotolo from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. She has been collaborating with the Czech team on research for a long time. "Professor Rotolo is a world leader in the development of new immunotherapeutic approaches and is co-author of a patented drug formulation from iNKT cells. Years ago, we were brought together by a happy coincidence and today, thanks to her and other experts from European universities, Czech scientists will also gain unique knowledge that will help to transfer research directly to patients, which will be appreciated by doctors in the future, and especially by patients themselves," said Monika Holubová from the Biomedical Centre of the Charles University Faculty of Medicine.

The next days of the international summer school will be spent by biologists and bioinformaticians in laboratories preparing samples using the cutting-edge technologies of the Biomedical Centre and the FAV classrooms. There they will analyse the data obtained. The main goal of the summer school is to guide students through the entire process of single-cell analysis - from sample preparation, processing into single-cell form and subsequent analysis including data interpretation. Such training will give students the opportunity to perform experiments at their home sites and to extend single-cell analysis to other disciplines.

"As an educational institution, our goal is to provide young scientists with an overview of cutting-edge research conducted around the world and to educate them in the ever-evolving field of single-cell analysis," says Lucie Houdová. "That is why the school is attended by excellent scientists giving lectures in various areas of research and is also led by experienced supervisors from abroad, including corporate application specialists," adds Monika Holubová.

The full programme of the Summer School of Single Cell, which takes place from 4th to 11th September, is available at this link. The language of instruction is English.