Breakthrough discovery and practical use of research

Dr. Izabela Stupka talks about her scientific career to date and the practical applications of her research.

The beginning of her scientific career

When asked if there was a specific event that made her decide to pursue a career as a scientist, Dr. Stupka answers that she wouldn’t be able to choose just one. Ever since she was a child, she was interested in scientific topics, and her parents encouraged her to pursue knowledge. She also liked the fact that in scientific work one can cross boundaries and discover new horizons.

“Unfortunately, we have many diseases in the 21st century for which there is no cure, and doctors are often helpless. This made me wonder,”

she says of her career choice.

She notes that she didn’t want to be a doctor, and what interested her was “being one step ahead.” She wanted to treat diseases and find out what causes them. She was curious about the micro world – mechanisms of diseases and bacteria that you can’t see, but which have a huge impact on people’s lives.

She graduated with a degree in Molecular Biotechnology from Jagiellonian University, with which she was affiliated until her PhD.

During her studies, she wanted to learn as much as possible. That’s why she did her undergraduate work in a virology lab and her master’s thesis in a tissue engineering lab. The project she tackled for her PhD was proposed by Professor Jonathan Heddle and combined both – working with proteins and cell cultures. Starting this project was the impetus for delving into the topic of protein cages – up to the present day. “These are protein capsules that occur naturally, an example of them being ferritin, found in living organisms,or viral capsids,” explains Dr. Stupka. She notes that these protein cages illustrate well how the drug delivery system can work:

“We can imagine that we pack something inside them, for example, an anti-cancer drug. Such protein capsules would be good to deliver directly to the tumor. In this way we could reduce the side effects of chemotherapy. This would be a breakthrough technology.”

Revolutionary discovery

Scientists have begun to look into modifying naturally occurring cages for just such purposes. They also started looking into synthetic biology, to try to find the methods to create artificial protein cages, Dr. Stupka says.

She herself became interested in this research thanks to its application reasons. Professor Heddle, the supervisor of her dissertation, discovered that there are bacterial TRAP proteins with an interesting shape that can form larger structures under certain conditions.

“They are like a donut with a hole in it. If you modify them properly, that is, introduce cysteine into eleven very specific places on this ring, and then mix the protein with gold compounds, these proteins start to assemble into a closed capsule,” explains Dr. Stupka.

With this breakthrough discovery, scientists became interested in how to use these properties for biological purposes.

During her Ph.D., Dr. Stupka, studied the biochemical properties of the cage and worked on its modification. At the beginning of her research, she encapsulated fluorescent proteins in the cage as a proof of concept. She then looked at the role of gold and conducted tests to see if it was possible to use something other than gold to assemble the cages. It turned out that it indeed was. She also discovered new methods of assembling the TRAP-cage and created a variant that breaks apart after light irradiation The results of this research have been published, among others, in the prestigious Nature, one of the oldest journals dealing with scientific topics. Dr. Stupka continues to be involved in this research. For several years, she has also been involved in another venture. She works for a company founded by Professor Heddle, nCageTherapeutics. This company is developing the results that Dr. Stupka, along with the Prof. Heddle team, achieved during her doctoral work. She is currently leading a research group in nCageTherapeutics focused on the development of the TRAP-cage as a vaccine platform. Recently, the company has obtained promising results of the studies in mice.

Fellowship and publication in the world’s top scientific journal

Dr. Stupka is the recipient of a scholarship from the Foundation for Polish Science’s program, START. She received the scholarship with Professor Waclaw Szybalski’s distinction.

“It was a recognition that what I was doing mattered and made sense. It was also a huge driving force to actually go further into it,”

she says of her achievement. She adds that it was significant for her to receive an award with a Professor Szybalski distinction, a well-known Polish molecular biologist. 

Another success for Dr. Stupka is also the aforementioned publication in the famous Nature. It is worth noting that this was the first research published with her participation. For herself, the fact that the research was affiliated at a Polish university is also of great importance. She notes that a lot of people consider scientific careers abroad because of better opportunities:

“I, on the other hand, think that my doctorate was a dream come true. I don’t think I would have achieved more somewhere abroad.”

Dr. Stupka continues to publish her research in journals such as Science Advances, Biomacromolecules and Journal of Material Chemistry B.

Challenges in research work

Dr. Stupka says that as early as high school, and later also during her studies, doubts about a research career crossed her mind. She wondered if it would provide her with a stable growth.  She wondered if it would provide her with stable development. She says the challenges during a university research career are the high level of competition and the fact that there is often more work than during a standard full-time position. Another difficulty is, at a later stage, the struggle for funding and grants, which are only awarded for a few years. There are also not that many biotech companies in Poland, she notes. So despite the fact that to some, a career in companies seems better than a career in academia, there are problems to get a position there, too. Dr. Stupka says she knows a lot of people who, despite their strong commitment to science, quit along the way. Small pay and a stressful profession, steered people to go in another direction. She stresses that a career in science also has good points. Dr. Stupka says that during her work so far, she has had the opportunity to meet many people who have been very supportive.

“It’s never working alone, but working as a team,” she says. This is definitely a good thing about being in science. Dr. Stupka also says that it is a very rewarding job, where every day can bring something completely new and look completely different. And if one enjoys gaining knowledge, there is an opportunity to do so every day.

Initiatives beyond science

In addition to her scientific work, Dr. Stupka is also involved in a polish social campaign, Write Your Will. This campaign encourages people to create their wills. Dr. Stupka stresses that this is a topic that is worth bringing up and getting people familiar with it:

“I got my [START] stipend from Professor Szybalski’s will, and I can see how much of an impact it had on me. So if we can publicize and talk about such topics, it’s definitely worth it.”

The second area that is important to her is the popularization of science.

“It’s worth showing scientific careers that are positive. It’s a good example to others that it’s possible to pursue such a career successfully.”

She says the scholarship she is the recipient of also contributes to spreading the word about science. The profiles of the scholarship recipients are shown in the media, which promotes science, she notes.

Future scientific goals

Dr. Stupka’s dream is to be involved in science that will carry over into everyday life.

“That is, not necessarily basic research, such as a mere interest in the properties of the cage, as during my PhD. This project, strictly academic, did not provide a transition to the clinic. On the other hand, thanks to the company’s activities, the research continues and moves toward actual clinical application.”

The drug delivery system itself, which is being developed by nCage Therapeutics, is only at an early stage. However, the vaccine platform is further along in its development. The company’s plan for the future is to identify a candidate for clinical trials.

“Another amazing achievement would be to develop a targeted anti-cancer technology involving TRAP-cages” says Dr. Stupka.

Although there is still a long way to go, translational medicine is something that Dr. Stupka wants to be further involved in.

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