10 July 2024 – When new EMBO Member Silvia Pastoreková was doing her PhD, she initially focused her study on the puzzles of virus genetics and their possible roles in human cancers. However, the project, carried out under the guidance of late EMBO Member Jan Závada, was led in unexpected directions when a monoclonal antibody that she produced as part of the project serendipitously enabled the identification of an enzyme called carbonic anhydrase IX (CA9), which can play a key role in the survival of cancer cells.
“My team’s research is focussed on understanding the molecular mechanisms of how cancer cells adapt to conditions such as low oxygenation and acidosis in the tumour microenvironment,” says Pastoreková, who is Director General of the Biomedical Research Center of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava. “CA9 belongs to family of enzymes that are present in all living organisms and help to regulate pH and ensure a balance necessary for healthy physiological processes. However, unlike other CA family members, CA9 can assume this role primarily on the surface of cancer cells, thereby supporting their survival, invasiveness, and ability to spread. Moreover, the expression of CA9 is induced by low oxygen conditions, allowing cancer cells to adapt and acquire aggressive behaviours. The work opens opportunities to identify biomarkers and develop cancer therapeutics that target tumours that express this key enzyme.”
At home, Pastoreková keeps paper and pencil ready by her bedside to capture any ideas that might come in the night, often flowing from discussions with team colleagues, and with her husband and research partner Jaromir, immunologist son Michal, and architect daughter Laura. “My family has been the strongest pillar of my personal and professional life, as well as the international connections and friendships we have created through our work,” says Pastoreková, who has previously represented the Slovak Republic in the EMBC (2007-2019), the body funding EMBO. “My experiences with EMBO have been very positive, and I am very proud to now become an EMBO Member. It provides me with a superb opportunity to further connections between EMBO and Slovak researchers. I will use the position to promote the EMBO opportunities to our young researchers, spread awareness of Slovak science across Europe, and get inspired by the excellent research that is carried out by the EMBO community.”
