Kuba's research visit to University of Glasgow

Jakub Kowalski received support from the University of Warsaw "Excellence Initiative – Research University (2020-2026)” program funded by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, Poland. The action "IV.4.1. A complex programme of support for UW PhD students" provided Kuba with a travel microgrant of 46882 PLN for a 3-month research visit in Scotland (January-April 2025).

Kuba tells the story:

"I’ve just returned from my 3-month research stay at the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research (CVR), where I visited Prof. Alfredo Castello’s group. First and foremost, I’d like to thank Prof. Castello and his amazing group! Prof. Castello’s group studies host-virus interactions involving RNA-binding proteins. Under their guidance, I learned the iCLIP2 technique, which I plan to apply to analyze the interactions of my favorite IFIT proteins with cellular RNA as a part of my PhD project. I also got hands-on experience working with BSL-2 level viruses and learned a lot - not only in terms of lab work.
I hope the knowledge I gained and memories of the breathtaking Scottish highlands will stay with me for a long time. I’m attaching a photo of the Scottish views - certainly a way better choice than a picture of my messy lab bench (well, to be fair, my bench wasn’t that messy - but I happened to be working next to Namah, whose perfectly organized bench constantly made me feel guilty about mine)."