Posts

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Guest Appearance on TV E

Our active researchers Dr Maša Ždralević and Dr Janja Rašović spoke about the project’s achievements and upcoming activities during their guest appearance on TV E’s programme E uživo.

The interview highlighted key results from the first year of the project, including the development of the Biobank Information Management System (BIMS), the establishment of the foundations for Montenegro’s first national cancer biobank, as well as scientific achievements and international collaboration through COST TRANSLACORE.

The discussion also focused on the activities planned for the project’s second year, including intensified participant recruitment and research into circulating microRNAs as potential biomarkers for colorectal cancer. The researchers also discussed the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration, the involvement of young researchers, and the development of research infrastructure that will support future molecular oncology research in Montenegro.

Watch the full interview on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fr1nB9zTX34

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Recognition for Our Research

We are proud to share that our paper, “Advances in microRNAs as Emerging Biomarkers for Colorectal Cancer Early Detection and Diagnosis”, has been selected as one of the Top Viewed Papers of IJMS in 2024. Congratulations to the entire team on this great achievement!

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First Annual Board Meeting

The first annual board meeting of the BIOCAN project was held on May 29th, at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Montenegro.

Over the past year, significant progress has been made across all key areas of the project. Ethical approvals were secured, patient recruitment is ongoing, and laboratory analyses have commenced. The project software has been successfully developed and deployed, and the project website is live.

A scientific review paper has been published in a Q1 journal, and a doctoral candidate involved in the project has successfully defended her dissertation topic.

With active support from the project’s governing bodies, the team remains committed to advancing the research and achieving the project’s goals in the upcoming period.

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Evaluation of the Trial Version of BIMS

The partner organization from the University of Donja Gorica has developed a trial version of the Biobank Information Management System (BIMS) designed for the needs of the project BIOCAN. A meeting dedicated to the evaluation of the trial version was held at the Faculty of Medicine on November 25th, bringing together members of our research team and colleagues from the University of Donja Gorica.

During the meeting, the functionality of the software was jointly analyzed through practical testing to identify potential shortcomings and areas for improvement. Participants provided feedback and highlighted the key strengths of the current version of the software, as well as the challenges that need to be addressed prior to its official implementation.

We extend our gratitude to our partners from the University of Donja Gorica for their wonderful collaboration.

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Exciting News: Our New Paper is Published

We are excited to announce that a new review article entitled: “Advances in microRNAs as Emerging Biomarkers for Colorectal Cancer Early Detection and Diagnosis” by BIOCAN research team has been published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences (IJMS) as part of the Special Issue: New Insights into Colorectal Cancer.

This comprehensive review summarizes the latest findings on deregulated microRNAs (miRNAs) in both precancerous lesions and CRC, in different types of samples, highlighting their potential as diagnostic tools. We specifically reviewed the roles and diagnostic relevance of four key miRNAs – miR-15b, miR-21, miR-31, and miR-146a – each of which consistently exhibits altered expression in CRC. Challenges and opportunities of integrating miRNA diagnostics into current screening methods are discussed, and the authors are confident that miRNAs have a potential to radically transform CRC diagnosis, leading to improved patient outcomes and new treatment strategies.

Six dedicated members of our BIOCAN team — Maša Ždralević, Andrijana Radović, Janja Raonić, Nataša Popović, Aleksandra Klisić, and Ljiljana Vučković — collaborated on this paper, which you can access through the following link: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/25/20/11060

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Young researcher training in biobanking

We are pleased to share that Andrijana Konatar, our young research associate and PhD student, attended TRANSLACORE Biobanking Training School, hosted by the Izmir Biomedicine and Genome Center (IBG) from June 10-12. This event was supported within the scope of the CA 21154-TRANSLACORE COST project (www.translacore.eu).


During this three-day event, Andrijana participated in a series of activities including presentations, case studies, interactive panel discussions, and hands-on training sessions conducted by distinguished experts in the field. The training enabled Andrijana to gain basic biobanking skills, learn about the collection, processing, and storage of high-quality human biological samples, which is a very important step in effective cancer research, and of particular importance to the activities within BIOCAN project.

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Patient recruitment for the BIOCAN study started

We are pleased to announce that the patient recruitment for our project started on May 8th, 2024, upon receiving approval of Ethical Committees of the Faculty of Medicine (no. 378/2), Clinical Center of Montenegro (no. 03/01-6812/1) and Primary Healthcare Center in Podgorica (no. 05/17-2725).

Recruitment is performed at the Center for Laboratory Diagnostics at the Primary Healthcare Center in Podgorica. It is fully anonymous, voluntary, and is oriented towards patients with indication for colonoscopic examination by their treating physician. Patients for the BIOCAN study are referred to us by gastroenterological team of the Clinical Center of Montenegro, led by Dr. Damir Muhović.

Dr. Maša Ždralević and our research associate Andrijana Konatar are responsible for the recruitment, interviewing, and collection of blood samples, with the assistance from the head of Center for Laboratory Diagnostics, Dr. Aleksandra Klisić and her team.

We would like to thank all the patients recruited so far and all the team members for their wonderful cooperation!

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BIOCAN at Grant Awards Ceremony

Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation of Montenegro organized a ceremony for scientific grants recipients. The event took place on 20 Jan 2024. There was around 100 applications in the call. There were 89 eligible applications, and 22 applications were granted funding for the research and scientific capacity building. BIOCAN project was one of them.

Grant recipients with prof. Andjela Jaksic Stojanovic, Minister
Prog. Miodrag Radunovic represented the BIOCAN at the Ceremony
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Kick-off meeting

The kick-off meeting of the project BIOCAN was held on January 25th at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Montenegro.

The opening speech was given by the project coordinator, Prof. Dr. Miodrag Radunović, who emphasized the importance of the project and the goals that are planned to be achieved. Thereafter, the focus shifted to organizational aspects, such as individual contract signing and signing the application for the Ethics Committee for study approval.

The governing bodies of the project were formed: the Management Board, the Executive Board, and the International Advisory Board (IAB). The Management Board, composed of experts from various institutions, will have a key role in making decisions regarding the implementation of the project. The Executive Board will ensure the implementation of those decisions, while the International Advisory Board will provide professional support and monitor the progress of the project. Through transparency, accountability and coordination, these bodies will ensure that the research project BIOCAN is successfully managed and achieves its goals. We are particularly proud of our distinguished IAB members:

  • Prof. Dr. Sergej Đuranović, Washington University School of Medicine, USA
  • Prof. Dr. Nese Atabey, Center for Genome and Biomedicine, Izmir, Turkey, and
  • Dr. Aleksandra Nikolić, Institute of Molecular Genetics and Genetic Engineering, Belgrade, Serbia.

Activity plan for the first research year was discussed and adopted, and the responsibilities were divided among the researchers. In the first year of the project, patient recruitment and sample collection, procurement of equipment, chemicals and consumables, histopathological analysis of tissue samples, software development, website creation and others are planned, according to the outline of planned activities and Gantt chart from the project application.

Data Management Plan, as well as rules regarding the authorship issues were discussed and adopted.

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