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TEAM-NET-FENG Card EVs PROJECT in our Team!!!

A new TEAM NET FENG project entitled ‘Next-generation medicinal products based on extracellular vesicles for applications in cardiology’ awarded by the Foundation for Polish Science (FNP) in our Team!!

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Infographic presenting the InnoBioVet project involving the Department of Cell Biology at Jagiellonian University and Bioceltix SA. The graphic features a golden retriever, stem cell and extracellular vesicle imagery, information on a novel cell-free biological therapy for canine atopic dermatitis, project funding and duration, and a photograph of the Department of Cell Biology research team. The Jagiellonian University research activities are carried out under the supervision of Prof. Ewa Zuba-Surma.

Researchers from the Stem Cell Team / Department of Cell Biology at the Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University, led by Prof. Ewa Zuba-Surma, are participating in the InnoBioVet project carried out in consortium with Bioceltix SA. The aim of the project is to develop an innovative cell-free biological veterinary medicinal product for the treatment of canine atopic dermatitis, based on a standardized mixture of biomolecules secreted by mesenchymal stem cells.

Jagiellonian University contributes its expertise in cell biology and extracellular vesicles (EVs). The research team is involved in the laboratory stage of the project, including the isolation, detailed characterization and functional assessment of three secretome-derived fractions in in vitro models. The broader R&D programme also includes secretome and EV standardization, optimization of biotechnological processes, scale-up under cGMP conditions, and preclinical in vitro and in vivo studies aimed at evaluating the safety profile and mechanism of action of the candidate product.

Canine atopic dermatitis is a chronic allergic skin disease estimated to affect approximately 10–15% of dogs worldwide and is commonly associated with persistent pruritus, skin lesions and recurrent infections. The InnoBioVet concept is therefore intended to translate advances in stem-cell secretome biology into a practical veterinary therapy with the potential to improve the quality of life of affected animals.

The project is funded under the European Funds for a Modern Economy 2021–2027 (FENG) – SMART Path programme, with the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR) acting as the intermediate body. Bioceltix SA is the consortium leader and Jagiellonian University is the scientific partner. The total project cost is PLN 19,504,920.70, with total funding amounting to PLN 15,118,311.42, including PLN 8,291,902 for Jagiellonian University.

The project illustrates how fundamental research on stem-cell-derived products and extracellular vesicles can be translated into innovative therapeutic solutions through close cooperation between academia and biotechnology industry.

Infographic announcing that the Jagiellonian University Stem Cell Team has joined the PolCeTh Consortium, included in the Polish Research Infrastructure Map. The graphic features a map of Poland highlighting consortium locations and Kraków/WBBiB UJ, portraits of Prof. Ewa Zuba-Surma and Prof. Justyna Drukała, and key information about the consortium’s focus on translational research, cell therapies, ATMP development and GMP-compliant infrastructure. It also emphasizes new opportunities for scientific collaboration, infrastructure development and translational medicine.

We are pleased to announce that the Jagiellonian University has become a partner of the PolCeTh Consortium – Polish Infrastructure for Translational Research in Cell Therapy, which has been included in the updated Polish Research Infrastructure Map (PMIB). PolCeTh is a strategic nationwide initiative aimed at strengthening Poland’s research and technological capacity in the field of advanced cell therapies.

At the Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology of the Jagiellonian University, the initiative involves the research teams of Prof. Ewa Zuba-Surma and Prof. Justyna Drukała from the Department of Cell Biology. Their participation brings together expertise in stem cell biology, regenerative medicine, cell-based medicinal products, tissue engineering and translational research.

The PolCeTh Consortium brings together six Polish scientific and academic institutions, led by the Mossakowski Medical Research Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw. Its main goal is to establish a nationwide research and development platform supporting the development, validation and implementation of innovative cell therapies, including Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs), in accordance with Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) requirements.

For our Team and the Department of Cell Biology, participation in PolCeTh creates new opportunities to further develop technologies and research infrastructure required to translate discoveries from basic and preclinical research into potential therapeutic applications. It will also facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration between research institutions and clinical centres and strengthen our capacity to participate in large-scale translational projects.

The inclusion of PolCeTh in the Polish Research Infrastructure Map may provide new opportunities for the development and modernization of research infrastructure and for participation in strategic national and international initiatives. Importantly, PolCeTh is also linked to the broader European translational research environment, including the European infrastructure for translational medicine – EATRIS.

We are proud that the expertise and experience of our researchers will contribute to this strategic initiative and help advance cell therapy, regenerative medicine and translational research in Poland.

Congratulations to all researchers and partners involved in PolCeTh, and we look forward to the new scientific and translational opportunities ahead!

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Social media graphic announcing that a Jagiellonian University innovation won 1st place in the “Eureka! DGP” competition. The design shows award ceremony photographs and a laboratory team photo, with modern biomedical and cell-inspired visual elements in the background. The graphic highlights the MesoCellA-4U Platform, autologous AT-MSCs, and the project’s relevance to regenerative medicine.

We are pleased to share that an innovation developed within our project at the Jagiellonian University has been awarded first prize in the “Eureka! DGP – Discovering Polish Inventions” competition, which promotes outstanding Polish scientific achievements with strong implementation potential.

The awarded technology was developed by our research Team from the Department of Cell Biology, Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology of the Jagiellonian University, led by Prof. Ewa Zuba-Surma, with a key contribution from Dr Anna Łabędź-Masłowska. The invention concerns an optimized method for obtaining autologous mesenchymal stem/stromal cells from a patient’s adipose tissue, known as AT-MSCs.

Our solution, developed as the MesoCellA-4U platform, supports the generation of advanced cellular material that may be used in the development of advanced therapy medicinal products. Thanks to the regenerative and immunomodulatory properties of AT-MSCs, the platform creates opportunities for developing new therapeutic approaches aimed at tissue repair and regeneration, including potential applications in orthopaedics and regenerative medicine.

This award is an important recognition of our team’s work and the translational potential of our research. It also highlights the value of combining basic science, biotechnology, clinical needs and technology transfer in the development of innovative medical solutions.

We are grateful to all team members and partners involved in the project and proud that our work has been recognized among the most promising Polish inventions.

Graphic announcing Dr Anna Łabędź-Masłowska’s participation in the Polish Clinical Scholars Research Training Program, delivered by Harvard Medical School Postgraduate Medical Education in collaboration with the Medical Research Agency in Poland. The image shows a portrait of Dr Anna Łabędź-Masłowska on the left, with the Harvard Medical School building in the background and the logos of Harvard Medical School and the Medical Research Agency at the bottom.

Dr. Anna Łabędź-Masłowska has been selected by Harvard Medical School Postgraduate Medical Education to participate in the prestigious Polish Clinical Scholars Research Training Program.

The Polish Clinical Scholars Research Training Program is delivered by Harvard Medical School Postgraduate Medical Education (US) in collaboration with the Medical Research Agency (Poland). This advanced program in health sciences research, with a particular focus on clinical research, enables participants to develop professional competencies across all stages of the research process - from applying analytical methods in epidemiology and biostatistics to designing research studies and preparing high-quality scientific publications.

The program is led by experts from Harvard Medical School and consists of nine specialized training modules covering topics such as advanced biostatistics, epidemiology, epigenetics and epigenomics, advanced clinical research methodologies, fundamentals of translational science, leadership and teamwork, scientific writing and grant proposal development.

Harvard Medical School, part of Harvard University - one of the world's most prestigious and highly ranked academic institutions - is widely recognized as one of the leading medical schools globally and a world leader in medical education and biomedical research.

The program will run from October 2026 through November 2027.

A collage related to the MuscExiaHeart project and the InterHeart 2025 call, showing members of the international consortium during the kick-off meeting in Paris, the Sorbonne University building, and the project graphic with the ERA4Health Partnership and European Union co-funding logos.

We are delighted to share the launch of “MuscExiaHeart” project, a newly funded international project supported under the ERA4Health InterHeart 2025 call

Prof. Ewa Zuba-Surma together with her StemCellTeam in the Department of Cell Biology at the FBBB JU joins the Consortium as a project Partner. The international team includes also the groups of Profs. Ara Parlakian, Sílvia Busquets Rius, Marie-Louise Bang, and collaborating colleagues from partner institutions from France, Spain and Italy such as Sorbonne University, University of Barcelona and IRCCS Istituto Clinico Humanitas.

The project aims to deepen our understanding of the complex biological links between cardiovascular disease, skeletal muscle, and cachexia. By focusing on extracellular vesicles (EVs) as mediators of interorgan communication, MuscExiaHeart will explore how signals exchanged between tissues may contribute to disease progression and systemic complications. MuscExiaHeart represents an important step toward better understanding the systemic nature of cardiovascular disease and cachexia — and toward identifying new mechanisms that may inform future diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.

The Consortium recently met for the project kick-off at Sorbonne University in Paris, marking the beginning of a collaborative research effort that brings together complementary expertise in cardiovascular biology, muscle biology, extracellular vesicles, and translational medicine.

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We are pleased to announce that Professor Ewa Zuba-Surma from our Team has once again secured a high position in the prestigious international Research.com ranking in the field of Biology and Biochemistry. For many years, she has consistently ranked highly among Polish scientists in this listing, and in 2022–2023 she was placed first in Poland. Her academic achievements include as many as 179 publications and 21,508 citations. This accomplishment confirms her well-established position in the scientific community. This distinction is a recognition of Professor Zuba-Surma’s significant contribution to the advancement of research in the fields of biology and biochemistry. Warm congratulations!

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Professor Ewa Zuba-Surma from the Jagiellonian University during the Poland’s Top 1000 Innovators visit to Silicon Valley – standing in front of scientific posters and at the Stanford University podium, pictured alone and with fellow participants and colleagues from Jagiellonian University and CITTRU

Professor Ewa Zuba-Surma has joined the group of Poland’s Top 1000 Innovators taking part in a high-profile meeting at Silicon Valley, organized by PolSV – Poland in Silicon Valley Center for Science, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship. The event in California, USA, brings together leading scientists and innovation leaders to strengthen ties between Polish academia and one of the world’s most dynamic technology ecosystems.

Professor Zuba-Surma is attending the program alongside colleagues from the Jagiellonian University in Kraków and the Technology Transfer Centre CITTRU UJ, including Justyna Supel, MBA. The visit offers a valuable opportunity to showcase innovative projects developed at the Jagiellonian University in search of strategic investments, as well as to build a strong international network with top innovators representing 12 universities from across Poland.

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A promotional banner for the event ‘Top 1000 Innovators of Poland in Silicon Valley,’ featuring the Golden Gate Bridge at night. The banner states the inaugural summit dates, December 9–12, 2025, and lists locations: Stanford, Berkeley, and Triple Ring Innovation Center. A small graphic of combined Polish and U.S. flags appears in the corner.

Our Team is joining an initiative that promotes scientific innovations in Silicon Valley. Participation in this undertaking creates an opportunity to establish cooperation with potential scientific and commercial partners and to further advance the technologies developed at the university. This distinction is possible thanks to the support and recognition from PolSV and CITTRu UJ, which acknowledged the innovative potential of the projects carried out at the Jagiellonian University. More information is available on the Top1000 project website.

The illustration shows an X-ray view of the front sections of both knees. On the left side, a healthy knee is visible, with clearly defined bone and cartilage structures. On the right side, a red-marked area indicates pain and inflammation within the knee joint, suggesting the presence of osteoarthritis. The background of the illustration is blue with futuristic elements, emphasizing the medical and technological nature of the graphic.

A novel osteoarthritis (OA) treatment method developed at the Jagiellonian University has successfully passed the second stage of clinical trials. The therapy consists in using mesenchymal stem cells, which after being implanted in the diseased joints reduce the OA-related pain and stimulate the regeneration of damaged tissues. The completed trials showed very promising results, leading to significant improvement of the patients' quality of life. Designers of the new osteoarthritis treatment method: Prof. Ewa Zuba-Surma, Dr Anna Łabędź-Masłowska, and Prof. Krzysztof Ficek from Galen Ortopedia medical company. Read More o

The project "New generation medicinal products based on extracellular vesicles for applications in cardiology (Acronym: Card-EV)" under the supervision of prof. dr hab. Ewa Zuba-Surma from our Department received funding from the Foundation for Polish Science (FNP) as part of the first call for applications in the TEAM NET FENG competition. Importantly, the project was at the top of the ranking list among only 3 awarded projects, selected from a pool of 74 submitted applications!

The aim of the project will be to develop new advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMP) for applications in cardiology, dedicated to the treatment of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). The project assumes the creation of innovative new generation products in the GMP standard, dedicated to auto- and allogeneic applications, based on extracellular vesicles (EVs) secreted by two types of human stem cells (KM) with reduced immunogenicity. The Project results, responding to the huge demand for innovative CVD therapies, will bring measurable social and economic benefits, providing next-generation drugs in the field of cardiology and thus contributing to the development of regenerative medicine.

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We are delighted to announce that in the OPUS28+LAP competition organized by the National Science Centre Prof. Ewa Zuba-Surma have received funding and will carry out a project entitled: “The role of extracellular vesicles from stem cells in the regulation of autophagy and mitochondrial homeostasis in heart tissue cells damaged by hypoxia (MiRegEV)”; Funding awarded: 3,545,320 PLN. Congratulations!!!

Mr. Marcin Ostoja-Hełczyński, conducting his research under the supervision of Prof. Ewa Zuba-Surma, have been selected as laureates of the BioLAB program. The BioLAB program is a year-long internship for students of biological-chemical, biophysical, medical, and related sciences in four American scientific institutions. Mr. Marcin will conduct his research under the guidance of Dr. Jake Kirkland at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, investigating the impact of chromatin regulators on the development of heart cells and the maintenance of the heart stem cell population in mice. Congratulations!!!

Our publication in the prestigious Journal of Nanobiotechnology (IF=10.2)!!!

Our Team has published an article in the "Journal of Nanobiotechnology" (IF2023=10.2). The work was a result of Polish-French collaboration between teams from WBBiB UJ and INSERM.

The first authors of the publication entitled "Mesenchymal stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles exert pro-angiogenic and pro-lymphangiogenic effects in ischemic tissues by transferring various microRNAs and proteins including ITGa5 and NRP1" are Dr. Anna Łabędź-Masłowska and Dr. Luisa Vergori. The research involved Anna Łabędź-Masłowska, Elżbieta Karnas, Sylwia Bobis-Wozowicz and Ewa Zuba-Surma from the Department of Cell Biology, as well as Syliwa Kędracka-Krok from the Department of Physical Biochemistry and Michał Sarna from the Department of Biophysics at WBBiB. The article can be accessed on the publisher's website. The publication of the article in open access mode was made possible thanks to funding from WBBiB UJ as part of the Strategic Excellence Initiative at Jagiellonian University.

Congratulations!!!

The BioMiStem Project team awarded in the 21st edition of the Economic Award of the President of the Republic of Poland!!!

Our interdisciplinary team of the BioMiStem Project under the direction of Prof. Ewa Zuby-Surma, consisting of scientists from the Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow and researchers from the Galen-Orthopedics Clinic in Bierun, has developed a new "cell therapy" called MesoCellA-Ortho. This is an innovative advanced therapy medicinal product (ATMP), with its active substance being human autologous mesenchymal cells prepared under GMP conditions. The product is dedicated for use in orthopedics, in the treatment of cartilage and bone defects in patients with degenerative joint disease, which is a global civilizational problem. Congratulations and best wishes for further success!

Prof. Ewa Zuba-Surma was awarded with the prestigious Kościuszko Foundation fellowship, which enables scientists, experts and artists to carry out postdoctoral research in the USA. As part of the fellowship, Prof. Zuba-Surma will go to the University of Nevada in order to conduct research on the pre-regenerative role of extracellular vesicles – EVs, secreted by human stem cells obtained from various sources. The nomination was presented to her by the US Ambassador to Poland Mark Brzezinski and the Kościuszko Foundation President and Executive Director Marek Skulimowski. Read More o

STEM CELL TEAM

Welcome on our page!

Welcome to the MicroTeam website led by Prof. dr. hab. Ewa Zuba-Surma. The work conducted in our team focuses on the use of stem cells (SCs) in regenerative medicine, especially in repairing ischemic damage of the heart muscle and other peripheral organs. The team is currently carrying out several research grants, working on both animal and human material.

MicroTeam is currently conducting projects in the Cell Biology Department of the Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Biotechnology at the Jagiellonian University. The research involves stem cells and their bioactive derivatives. The team has experience in:

isolating and culturing stem cells (SCs) derived from bone marrow, umbilical cord blood, Worthen's jelly, mobilized peripheral blood, and other mature tissues – from which hematopoietic SCs [HSC], VSELs, Mesenchymal SCs [MSC], Endothelial Progenitor SCs [EPC], among others, are obtained;
genetic induction aimed at obtaining iPS cells – the group has its own human and animal iPS cell lines, and has the capability to obtain these lines from any cells through transfection or transduction (including their own production line of viral vectors);
isolating and assessing bioproducts of SCs, including bioactive microvesicles (MVs) derived from SCs and other clinical materials (including peripheral blood, umbilical cord blood, and bone marrow);
identifying SCs and their derivatives in experimental (including animal) and clinical material based on the antigenic profile of these cells using state-of-the-art flow cytometry technologies (both classical and imaging);
testing the functional potential of SCs in vitro (including proliferative activity, viability, cardiomyogenic and angiogenic differentiation) and in vivo (in collaboration: the ability to study the regenerative activity of selected SCs in models of heart and limb ischemia in small and large preclinical animal models – respectively, in mice and pigs).

The research conducted by our team is carried out using top-class research equipment, including the use of modern multicolor flow cytometers for cell analysis, as well as nanoparticles. We have a fully equipped cell culture laboratory capable of culturing cells under standard conditions or under reduced oxygen conditions, which is utilized in working with stem cells. The laboratory allows for cultivation of SCs from various species at the highest standard, with the possibility of using them in further studies and potential practical applications. The laboratory also enables optimization of the methods used, for example, to study the impact of biomaterials, biopolymers, or soluble factors on SC growth.

A high-quality molecular biology laboratory allows for the use of molecular cloning techniques for gene expression analysis and the creation of viral vectors used for cell transformation. Flow cytometry, including a cytometer with the ability for multiparametric fluorescence detection, allows for precise characterization of cell antigens and the identification of cell populations and their derivatives.

We are interested in collaboration in research as well as in obtaining funding and research grants. You are welcome to contact us!

Success of the research team led by Prof. Ewa Zuba-Surma entitled: A Revolution in the Treatment of Osteoarthritis aired (in PL) on the news program Kronika on TVP3:

Prof. Ewa Zuba-Surma, lecture (in PL) entitled: Benefits and Risks of Using Stem Cells in Geriatric Medicine can be viewed by clicking on the image below:

Source of the recording (in PL): Medycyna Praktyczna, link: www.mp.pl

The remaining lectures are listed below:

Video gallery

Prof dr hab. Ewa Zuba-Surma & dr E. Karnas: iPSC EVs boost hematopoietic properties of cord blood cells:

Prof. Ewa Zuba-Surma: Extracellular vesicles from stem cells (in PL):

Łańcut | Final of the 21st Edition of the Economic Award of the President of the Republic of Poland (in PL):