16 January 2024 – Gergely Rona has made a habit of approaching scientific puzzles from fresh angles. “As a young student, I saw something in the literature that didn’t make sense to me,” says Rona, a group leader at the Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Budapest, Hungary. “I was invited to carry out some preliminary experiments and to my surprise they revealed unknown effects on the localization of an enzyme that plays a key role in genomic integrity and how cells function. When I saw the black and white results, I was so happy and rushed to tell my supervisor, who invited me to carry out follow-up studies for my PhD. The experience showed me that when you have an idea, dedication and support, you can make it work.”
Rona’s group studies how cells maintain their genomic integrity, and how this is linked to health and disease. “Errors in a cell’s DNA repair processes are thought to contribute to neurological disorders such as Huntington’s disease and Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,” he says. “One area we are interested in is how non-dividing cells, such as neurons, repair and protect their genome against DNA damage, despite not being able to rely on the replication machinery. We hope this will improve understanding of what is happening in some neurodegenerative diseases before symptoms have fully onset and support the development of treatments.”
Studies will bring together biochemistry, genetics and proteomics, and Rona says his EMBO Installation Grant presents opportunities to build fruitful collaborations. “We will be able to initiate joint projects to help answer our research questions,” he says. “My team will also be able to attend meetings, take part in training courses and benefit from mentorship initiatives that will support the growth of our lab. The research is exciting because it’s new, there’s lots to discover, and it’s a high-risk high-gain proposal. I’m grateful for all the support I got during my postdoctoral years from my supervisor, peers and colleagues that set me up for this path. Now this grant is an amazing jump-start to life as a group leader: it supports me in following my dreams and will also help my team members to achieve theirs.”
