Research goals closer thanks to Go8 fellowship

Research

A visiting Polish scientist will return to her home city of Krakow next month after spending six months at the University of Adelaide learning from some of the world's best male physiology experts.

Dr Malgorzata Kotula-Balak is a biologist from the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, with a PhD in Male Reproductive Physiology.

She is one of eight early career researchers from Eastern Europe awarded $20,000 Group of Eight (Go8) European Research Fellowships in 2009 to study at Australia's leading, research-intensive universities.

Dr Kotula-Balak has been working with the University of Adelaide's Professor Richard Ivell and Dr Ravinder Anand-Ivell on the way that genes and the environment interact to modulate male physiology and the ageing process.

Dr Kotula-Balak said that the opportunity to work with an international team of male physiology experts in Adelaide, using some of the most sophisticated equipment and latest technology, was like a dream come true.

"Professor Ivell is one of the world's best brains when it comes to understanding molecular aspects of reproductive tissues," Dr Kotula-Balak said.

"Also, the University of Adelaide's reputation in this area is world class."

Most of her time here has been spent investigating the role of the peptide hormone Relaxin in the male reproductive system.
Relaxin is produced by the prostate in men and is present in their semen.

"We know it is important for female reproduction but we don't know exactly how it works in the male," Dr Kotula-Balak said.

"Using a genetic mouse model, we are exploring some of the molecular mechanisms which underlie the ageing process in the male."

Dr Kotula-Balak will continue collaborating with Professor Ivell's team when she returns to Jagiellonian University in November.

"Eastern European universities have limited resources and hence less opportunities for young scientists to achieve many goals in research," Dr Kotula-Balak said.

"The Go8 Fellowship provides excellent opportunities to early career researchers like me to be exposed to the latest technologies and ideas, while working alongside a very strong academic pool of scientists."

The Go8 European Fellowships are open to early career researchers from the emerging European economies of Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia.

Story by Candy Gibson