Forging connections from Churchill to Kyiv
A guest lecture from Gippsland to the war zone in Kyiv has sparked a research connection between Monash Rural Health, the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute’s Department of Physiology and the Taras Shevcheko National University of Kyiv (KNU).
Associate Professor Marianne Tare, who is the Director of Monash Rural Health Churchill and a cardiovascular physiology researcher, was invited to give a guest lecture at Taras Shevcheko National University of Kyiv by Professor Oleksander Zholos the Head of the Department of Biophysics and Medical Informatics KNU, earlier this year. The lecture on ‘Vascular Function in Health and Disease’ was part of KNU’s ‘Education and Science Without Borders’ program, for students who have been severely impacted by the ongoing invasion.
In the audience was Dr Olesia Moroz - an Assistant Professor and member of Professor Zholos’ research group - who has an interest in the role of Transient Receptor Potential (TRP) ion channels in the regulation of smooth muscle function. TRP channels are like sensors for cells and largely contribute to the regulation of cell functioning, and Dr Moroz’s research focuses on the myometrium in women, which is the middle, muscular layer of the uterine wall whose main function is to cause uterine contractions during labour. Her research explores how pharmacological agents can be used to regulate uterine contractions, enhancing them during labour or suppressing them during gestation.
Associate Professor Tare’s lecture, about her work involving simultaneous recordings of smooth muscle membrane potential and tension in blood vessels, sparked an interest in Dr Moroz.
“These recordings involve a very difficult technique, and few people in the world are able to do it,” explained Associate Professor Tare, but it provides unique insights into the mechanisms that regulate smooth muscle contraction and relaxation.
The technique is so specialised that few labs in the world have the equipment and expertise to do it. Associate Professor Tare and her long-time colleague, Emeritus Professor Helena Parkington are experts in this area. The pair offered to mentor Dr Moroz and provide accommodation if she was able to travel to Australia, explained Associate Professor Tare.
“After speaking with Olesia, I suggested that she come to Australia. Olesia is interested in uterine smooth muscle, and the lab at Clayton where I do my work is run by Professor Helena Parkington, a world leader in the electrophysiology of uterine smooth muscle.”
Dr Moroz travelled to Melbourne in June. With the support of Associate Professor Tare and Professor Parkington, she spent six weeks based in the Department of Physiology, where she focused on mastering the specialised technique.
“I developed skills in preparing the tiny tissue strips required for this methodology as well as those needed for the microelectrode positioning and the cell ‘catching’. I was also involved in discussions about the experimental design, data analysis and interpretation of results,” said Dr Moroz.
While Dr Moroz returned to Kyiv in August, she hopes to continue learning from Associate Professor Tare and Professor Parkington in 2024. She brings her new knowledge of how to create simultaneous recordings of smooth muscle membrane potential and tension (using intracellular glass microelectrodes) back to KNU and plans to collaborate on future projects.
“I hope to collect all the necessary equipment to introduce the electrophysiological techniques I've learned at Monash in my home lab.”
Since the initial lecture, Dr David Reser, Senior Lecturer at Monash Rural Health, has also delivered a lecture on the ‘Anatomy and Physiology of Auditory Transduction’ to the very appreciative students at KNU.
For Associate Professor Tare, the opportunity to help give back during this time of unrest in Ukraine was an important and rewarding one.
“Students and scientists in Ukraine are fiercely determined to continue with their education and scientific research at all costs. Monash Rural Health Churchill and the Department of Physiology have, in their own small way, helped one scientist to realise their dream, advance their career and establish a new collaboration that will benefit both Universities.”