The study of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at South Ural State University (SUSU) will reach a new level: the scientists will use the main tool of molecular genetics - polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to determine resistance and predisposition to stress. The PCR laboratory is already ready for operation, and it has all the necessary equipment installed.
Due to the two-year pandemic, PCR testing is perceived only as a diagnosis of COVID-19 coronavirus infection. However, the concept of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is much broader: it is one of the most accurate methods for diagnosing infectious and hereditary diseases. As the main tool in molecular genetics, PCR provides unique opportunities for in vitro synthesis of multiple copies of any DNA segment in a short time and allows one to evaluate gene transcription by the number of synthesized messenger RNAs.
In December 2021, a PCR laboratory began work at South Ural State University. The scientists needed this laboratory in 2019 and it took several years to open it. Now the School of Medical Biology has a fully equipped laboratory. The head of this laboratory is Vadim Tseylikman, Doctor of Biology.
“We are extremely grateful to the administration of the university and Rector Alexander Shestakov for understanding our plans and for finding opportunities to implement them in this hard time. The PCR laboratory has all the necessary equipment assembled in a single unit into a conveyor. The Yekaterinburg branch of the InterLabService company acted as a supplier, and its employees trained to work with this equipment,” said Vadim Tseylikman.
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In the photo: employees of the new PCR laboratory working with an amplifier.
The new laboratory will use PCR to study the molecular genetic mechanisms of the development of predisposition and resistance to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other anxiety-depressive disorders associated with chronic stress. The main task facing the laboratory is the creation of a new genetic model of PTSD. This work has been carried out by specialists of the School of Medical Biology for several years. They are engaged in experimental and clinical studies.
First of all, soon the researchers from the Laboratory for Advanced Studies of Molecular Mechanisms of Chronic Stress will work in the new laboratory. Students will be involved in the research work.
“Last week the new specialty “Bioengineering and Bioinformatics” got the license. In the future, we see students of this specialty as the main target audience for this laboratory,” added Vadim Tseylikman.
The study of stress and the creation of stress-protective technologies is one of the components of the strategic project “Health Saving in the Digital World”, implemented by SUSU within the framework of the Priority 2030 program.
South Ural State University is a university of digital transformations, where innovative research is carried out in most priority areas of science and technology. Following the strategy of scientific and technological development of the Russian Federation, the university focuses on the development of large scientific interdisciplinary projects in the field of the digital industry, materials science, and ecology. In the Year of Science and Technology, SUSU won the competition under the Priority 2030 program. The university performs the functions of the regional project office of the Ural Interregional Scientific and Educational Center.