SONATA grant award to Katarzyna Bandyra

Dr Katarzyna Bandyra received 1 998 000 PLN funding from the National Science Centre, Poland, in the SONATA programme addressed to researchers with a doctoral degree beginning their scientific career in conducting innovative basic research. In the 16th edition of the programme, researchers submitted 1123 proposals, from which 180 projects received funding. Congratulations to Kasia for her success in this tough competition!

Dr Bandyra will join our lab from September 2021, and her project Structure-function studies of human PNPase will start shortly thereafter, focusing on cryo-electron microcopy and functional studies of PNPase complexes with RNA in human mitochondria.

This award together with the NCN POLS grant and EC Widening Fellowship will allow Dr Bandyra to launch an exciting research programme investigating potential new roles of human PNPase and mitochondrial RNA metabolism.

For the latest example of Dr Bandyra's work, see:

A cooperative PNPase-Hfq-RNA carrier complex facilitates bacterial riboregulation.

Dendooven T, Sinha D, Roeselová A, Cameron TA, De Lay NR, Luisi BF, Bandyra KJ.

Mol Cell (2021) doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2021.05.032