Maxim Shkurnikov

An article by researchers from HSE University’s Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology is among the most read articles published in the PeerJ journal in 2023. In the paper, the researchers establish a link between the genetic characteristics of the human immune system and its ability to effectively resist new waves of COVID-19. PeerJ is a peer-reviewed open access scientific journal covering research in the field of biological and medical sciences. Every year the editors compile a ranking of the most popular scientific papers.

On March 19, the second semi-final of the fourth season of HSE University Science Battles brought together the topics of cultural appropriation, pharmacological neural networks, prison jargon, and ‘diseases’ of higher education on the same stage. Students from various degree programmes presented their projects in the Community space. Read on to find out more about the performances featured in the semi-finals.

On June 24, 2022, the International Laboratory of Microphysiological Systems hosted a joint seminar with the Laboratory for Research on the Molecular Mechanisms of Longevity, dedicated to the issue of miRNA overexpression in human cells, a process that leads to an excess amount of transcript produced by the genome.

Scholars from HSE University and the RAS Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry have demonstrated the efficiency of T-cell immune response against the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2. In approximately 90% of vaccinated Europeans, T-cell immunity was as effective against Omicron as with other variants. The results of the study were published in PeerJ.

The decision to create the laboratory was based on the results of an open competition organised by HSE University. The winner of the competition was the project ‘The role of non-coding RNA in facilitating active ageing’ led by Maxim Shkurnikov, Associate Professor of the HSE University Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology.

HSE University researchers assessed the effectiveness of the T-cell immune response to 11 variants of SARS-CoV-2. Their findings have been published in Nucleic Acids Research.

HSE University researchers have become the first in the world to discover genetic predisposition to severe COVID-19. The results of the study were published in the journal Frontiers in Immunology.