Klaudia Piotrowska
PIPS Host Organisation: National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC), Thailand
Project Title: Understanding Neuron-Astrocyte Interaction During Rabies Virus Infection

The main aim of Klaudia Piotrowska’s iPIPS project was to investigate the neuroprotective role of hiPSC-derived astrocytes during rabies virus infection in the 3D neuron-astrocyte co-culture model. Although the culture conditions for neurons were optimized, the co-culture conditions for both cell types had to be established. The work carried out during her placement involved optimizing 3D culture conditions for astrocytes alone and in co-culture with neurons.

Various microscopy techniques were utilized to determine the differences in cell morphology before and after rabies virus infection. Molecular techniques were also used to determine the genetic differences. Microscopy played a major role in Klaudia’s project, making her more confident in microscope use and data analysis, skills she will be able to utilise in her PhD research.

Placement at BIOTEC made Klaudia realize that people collaborate on multiple projects at a time to increase the number of research outputs. It also became clearer to her that reaching out to people in different fields of expertise is advantageous, and when roles on the project are determined, people work as a team to meet the goals. While she will be able to apply some of the research skills in her studies, experiencing different work cultures and cultural differences altogether contributed to her personal growth