HUN-REN Biological Research Centre, Szeged 
Researchers studying extracellular vesicles at the HUN-REN Biological Research Centre, Szeged (HUN-REN BRC Szeged) are participating in the international Challenge Programme launched by the Novo Nordisk Foundation. The programme investigates the role of tiny vesicles released by pathogenic fungi during invasive infections. On behalf of HUN-REN BRC Szeged, Krisztina Buzás’s research group will contribute primarily through the analysis and interpretation of large-scale molecular datasets. The six-year consortium is led by Attila Gácser, professor at the University of Szeged.
Marine life hides not only unusual shapes and colours, but also tiny molecules that may offer new ideas for drug discovery. Szeged researchers took part in a recent international study in which scientists designed new hybrid molecules based on ray-derived peptides and examined how these molecules behave in cells and in different molecular interactions.
Bacteriophages, or phages, are viruses that infect bacteria and are not considered human pathogens. Yet researchers at the Translational Microbiology Laboratory of the Institute of Biochemistry, HUN-REN Biological Research Centre, Szeged, have shown that some gut phages can also physically interact with human cells. The study identifies phage surface proteins that act as molecular anchors, promoting attachment to human cells, cellular uptake, and prolonged retention in the gastrointestinal tract. The findings open new perspectives on how phages behave in the body and may create new opportunities for therapeutic development.
Researchers at the HUN-REN Biological Research Centre, Szeged are participating in a €15 million Horizon Europe programme that will investigate the combination of phage therapy and microbiome restoration in a European clinical trial. Recurrent urinary tract infections affect hundreds of millions of people worldwide, are particularly common among women, and in many cases require repeated courses of antibiotics. This not only reduces quality of life, but may also contribute to the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and disrupt the healthy functioning of the gut microbiome. Researchers in the REPhRAME clinical trial, including Bálint Kintses and his group from Hungary, hope that the approach could help break the vicious cycle of recurrent urinary tract infections while sparing the gut microbiome.
Every cell releases various substances into their surroundings. Secretory cells (which produce hormones, digestive enzymes, saliva, etc.) produce these substances in particularly large quantities. However, the fate of the secretory granules containing these substances is not limited to being released: it has been known for nearly 60 years that the granules are also capable of fusing with lysosomes, thereby breaking down and recycling the secreted material. This process is known as crinophagy and can be observed in all secretory cells: this is how the quantity and quality of secretory granules are regulated.
The „Straub-Days” event of the HUN-REN Biological Research Centre, Szeged will be organized on May 21 – May 22, 2026, in the main building of the HUN-REN BRC Szeged at Temesvári krt. 62. This time, the event is arranged as an international conference featuring invited speakers from Brazil, Italy, Slovakia, Sweden, Austria, and the UK, among others, with co-author poster contributions representing nearly 20 different countries. The organizers welcome every interested visitor.
In connection with the objective set out in the government program—“We will restore the autonomy of science. We will prepare a new, transparent law that reinstates the professional independence of the MTA (Hungarian Academy of Sciences) and the research institutes, and settles the status of academic assets.”—we propose reconsidering the future vision and operating principles of the organization established by the HUN-REN law.
