Katarina Grznarova

Hi, Katarina. Could you tell us about your area of expertise?

I have a PhD in neuroscience and biochemistry, and I'm studying neurodegenerative diseases. Within this, my focus is on the protein level, namely the interaction and aggregation of the proteins implicated in these diseases—namely prion diseases, Parkinson’s, and Alzheimer's diseases.
As a member of the Alzheimer’s disease and prion diseases research team, my colleagues and I are working on the development of diagnostic methods for early detection of neurodegenerative diseases in biological liquids like the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). To do this, we are focusing on the aggregated form of the proteins associated with these diseases.

Which spring school were you a part of in India?

I participated in the Structural Biology workshop of the IIT-Delhi spring school, focusing on cryo-electron microscopy and crystallography. I had little insight into the techniques that our colleagues at IITD were demonstrating to us. Crystallography, for example, is not my specific area of expertise, so it was fascinating to see how things were done. As researchers, we read the scientific publications, understand the results, but we don’t always get to see how some particular experiments are done in practice. It was amazing to gain real insight into how the crystals are created and how cryo-electron microscopy is conducted.

What was it like meeting and collaborating with researchers over there?

It was enriching. The facilities at IITD are very impressive. They have specialized labs, which are led by brilliant scientists. We worked closely with Professor Ashok Patel and Professor Manidipa Banerjee. It was great to combine our expertise and it's always inspiring to see how other people do research.

What was the biggest takeaway overall for you?

My biggest takeaway was the connections we created with the students, young researchers, as well as with the professors, and how wonderful the people were. They were very warm, enthusiastic collaborators with impressive scientific backgrounds and expertise, with a lot of knowledge that they happily shared. The most beautiful thing that I heard was from Professor Patel. He said: “Ask me anything anytime. First and foremost, we are teachers. Our main mission is to teach.”

And of course, they really took wonderful care of us. They showed us the most beautiful parts of Delhi and its surroundings. They made sure that we were entertained, safe, and comfortable. And of course, we ate very well!

How does this collaboration in India come to play a role in your future career?

At the Paris Brain Institute, we do not have the facilities to conduct crystallography or cryo-electron microscopy techniques. It also demands skills, specific equipment, and space. My time in India made me understand just how much skill and constant training it requires to perform those techniques. This is especially the case for CryoEM: manipulating the microscope grids that bear the samples to create a very thin, vitrified ice that allows one, via the electron microscope, to see the sample particles trapped in it. Thanks to 3D reconstruction, we can get a very detailed image of the sample.

I was very happy to get to know Professor Patel and Professor Banerjee. I think that many researchers from Paris Brain Institute could benefit from the new Cryo-EM and Crystallography platforms in IIT Delhi, very soon to be operational on an international level.

Not only do our Indian collaborators have the skills and equipment for the treatment of samples, but they also have a strong willingness for teaching and collaborating. We discussed collaborations to unravel the structure of protein aggregates isolated from human samples as well as programs in which PhD candidates could participate in an exchange for a few months, undergo training, and then return to us with new skills.

Samples are already flowing between France and India for different projects on both sides, and I hope this exchange I participated in will contribute to its growth.

What’s the biggest challenge in the job of a postdoc or a research engineer?

As research engineers, we have one or more areas of expertise. We set up the techniques we have expertise in and also develop new ones. We help to perform those techniques in collaboration with different researchers, help to adapt these approaches for different projects, and provide our insight on a part of the scientific question. Also, we train and accompany master's and PhD students from the technical point of view if it is in our range of competence.

Being a postdoc is mostly about advancing a scientific project as far as possible in the given time of the funding, then communicating about it in scientific journals. It is common to write an application for the next funding with the preliminary results when the project has not yet been finished. We also supervise master students, who will stay for an internship in the lab for 3 to 6 months. Sometimes, we learn on the fly. This is generally the fun part.
The challenge, I think, is to juggle one’s research and being available to others. One should always know what to prioritize and it is sometimes a struggle. Research is extremely enriching, can be very rewarding, but is also very demanding. Another challenge is to blend personal and professional life. The hardest part is advancing everything at once.

What piqued your initial interest in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s?

I’m interested in protein folding. I applied for a PhD position with a very interesting project focusing on the folding of PrP (prion protein), and its interaction with Abeta, a peptide known for aggregating in Alzheimer’s disease. This was where it started for me.

Parkinson’s disease, prion diseases, as well as Alzheimer’s disease, are pathologies that share similar mechanisms of protein aggregation and propagation called prion-like. The common protein folding mechanism led me to work on Alzheimer’s disease diagnostic tools.

Alzheimer’s disease is nowadays one of the major societal question marks, as it represents a heavy burden on the healthcare system and society. One important challenge in patient care is to initiate the therapeutic strategy as soon as possible during the clinical course of the disease, even at the prodromal phase, to maximize treatment efficacy. That’s where the research of our team steps in. It's exciting to be able to see the medical applications of our research.