Azra Frkatović
I come from Bosnia and Herzegovina where I received my BSc in Genetics at International Burch University in Sarajevo in 2015. I obtained my MSc degree in Genetics at the same university in 2017. While working on my master thesis, I had an opportunity to collaborate with professor from Faculty of dental sciences at the University of Sarajevo and work on analysis of gene expression in human periapical inflammatory lesions at the same time looking for potential biomarkers for differentiation of different types of lesions.
I am IMForFUTURE ESR 4 working under the supervision of professor Gordan Lauc at Genos Ltd., private-owned company specializing in the field of glycobiology. The main goal of my research is to study complex genetics of protein glycosylation, more precisely immunoglobulin G (IgG) N-glycosylation. IgG is the most common antibody in humans and it plays a prominent role in immune response. N-glycosylation represents a post-translational protein modification that has great influence on structure and function of IgG and defects in this pathway can result in severe diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and different types of cancers.
Current work
Genome-wide association study of the derived IgG N-glycan traits is the main focus of my PhD thesis. This approach will give us insight into genetic background of IgG N-glycosylation and help us in identifying key drivers of changes in the process. This work also provides a basis for future analyses of effects of gene-gene and gene-environment interactions in the complex pathway of protein glycosylation.
One of my projects is the gene-environment interaction analysis of IgG N-glycosylation where I aim to combine glycomic, epigenomic and genomic data to see how changes in one mechanism can lead to changes in the other, allowing us to connect the puzzle pieces and see a clearer picture of what happens in the IgG N-glycosylation process.
Secondments
University of Edinburgh
Intersectoral secondments are a big part of MSCA ITNs and offer a great opportunity for early stage researchers to see and get the best of the both worlds. My visit to the Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine allowed me to gain new knowledge and experiences in an academic environment which helped me make progress in my research and move closer towards the project goals.
King's College London
During my visit to KCL, I got the opportunity to learn more about epigenomics and ways of incorporating it in my study of gene-environment interaction in IgG N-glycome. Visiting other institutions enables young researchers to gain more insight into institutional culture, how information is shared and how people communicate in the group but also between the groups. Every aspect of my visit was indeed a really valuable and useful scientific experience but also an important career life lesson.
Conferences and workshops
I attended the virtual ASHG (American Society of Human Genetics) meeting in 2020 which is one of the best conferences I attended so far. Even though the virtual events lack valuable in-person networking which is hard to make up for, the chance to easily shift between sessions and listen to multiple great talks even after the conference is over is a big plus.
I also had a chance to be behind the scenes of a virtual event by actively participating in the organization of IMforFUTURE Ageing Workshop which took place 8-10 February, 2021. I was given an opportunity to present a talk on epigenome-wide association study of the human IgG N-glycome which is the current focus of my research.
Public engagement
IMForFUTURE promotes will and interest in engaging with the public to show how science can be fun and exciting and also how science progresses every day and shapes our future. IMforFUTURE network also presents a great way to promote our work by organizing public engagement events, such as the one organized in Split in June, 2019.
Being an active member of the Marie Curie Alumni Association (MCAA) gives me opportunities to participate in various events which promote science with a focus on the ones organized in Western Balkans countries. I was a member of the task force for the organization of the 2021 MCAA Virtual Conference which took place 5-7 March 2021.
I also participated in the first-ever Bosnia and Herzegovina 3 minute-thesis competition which started in 2020 and ended in January 2021. The competition was a great networking opportunity but also a great challenge for PhD students who have to make their research understandable to the non-specialist audience. My 3MT presentation can be viewed here.
