CENTER FOR BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES

Center for Biomedical Sciences at the Faculty of Medicine in Foča has three laboratories:

  • Laboratory for Immunology and Cell Biology
  • Laboratory for Experimental Pharmacology
  • Laboratory for Molecular Genetics

The Center for Biomedical Sciences at the Faculty of Medicine in Foča began its operations in 2016, after all the necessary technical and material conditions for the operation of the Laboratory for Immunology and Cell Biology were met.

 

LABORATORY FOR IMMUNOLOGY AND CELL BIOLOGY

In July 2016, the Laboratory for Immunology and Cell Biology acquired a six-channel flow cytometer, model Attune Acoustic Focusing Cytometer, from Thermo Fisher. In 2016, the laboratory introduced several methods for detecting apoptosis (morphological analysis of apoptosis using staining in Turk’s solution, staining with propidium iodide in a hypotonic solution, and Annexin FITC/Propidium iodide staining to determine apoptosis and cell necrosis phases). A method for detecting mitochondrial potential using staining with DioC6 was also introduced, as well as a method for determining cytotoxicity of various substances using the MTT test. The most significant activity involved the phenotypic analysis of total cells or mononuclear cells of human blood using monoclonal antibodies and multi-parameter analysis. The ELISA method for determining the concentration of various cytokines was also introduced. Simultaneously, this method was compared with microsphere technology for the simultaneous detection of 14 cytokines (Flow cytomix method on a flow cytometer). Immunohistochemistry and immunocytochemistry methods were introduced, and three doctoral students of the third study cycle from this faculty attended a three-day training in this field at the Faculty of Medicine in Belgrade. A sterile room for working with cell cultures was fully equipped. Currently, work is being done with L929, THP-1, U937, and B16 cell lines, stem cell lines, and macrophage cell lines, where doctoral students perform exercises within the course Principles of Good Laboratory Practice and work on their doctoral dissertations. Eight doctoral students in the Molecular Medicine program are currently working in the laboratory.

LABORATORY FOR EXPERIMENTAL PHARMACOLOGY

In the Laboratory for Experimental Pharmacology, two senior assistants are working on the realization of their doctoral dissertations. Research is being conducted in collaboration with the Department of Pharmacognosy at the Faculty of Medicine in Banja Luka. The subject of research is the in vitro assessment of the vasorelaxant and spasmolytic effects of essential oil isolated from different plant organs of two representatives of the genus Seseli.

LABORATORY FOR MOLECULAR GENETICS

In the first half of 2016, the project The Importance of Molecular Biology in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Lung Tumors, approved by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Republic of Srpska, was finalized in the Laboratory for Molecular Genetics.

Based on current trends in biomedical research, the following five thematic projects have been proposed and accepted for the next five-year period:

  • Stem cells and cell therapy in oncology, regenerative medicine, and dentistry, Coordinator: Academician Miodrag Čolić
  • Pharmacological and molecular foundations of drug and biological product effects on normal and tumor cells, Coordinator: Assist. Prof. Dr. Dragana Drakul
  • Cytocompatibility and immunomodulatory properties of nanomaterials, Coordinator: Academician Miodrag Čolić
  • Clinical, pathophysiological, and molecular-genetic foundations of injuries and diseases, Coordinator: Prof. Dr. Dejan Bokojić
  • Modern aspects of public health research, Coordinator: Prof. Dr. Biljana Mijović

The first three thematic projects are primarily implemented at the Center for Biomedical Sciences and are the backbone of the doctoral theses of third-cycle students from the Molecular Medicine module. The other two thematic projects rely on the support of the Center but are primarily conducted in other departments of the Faculty and organizational units that serve as its teaching base. These projects involve doctoral theses of students in the Clinical Medicine and Public Health modules.