From Classroom to Lab Bench
Sharing the science behind antiviral drug development with educators
Recently, Maja Katalinic (coordinator of work package 3 on preclinical validation) gave a lecture at the Council of Nature and Biology Professors in Koprivnica, Croatia. She discussed the development process of antiviral drugs and presented the objectives and research work on the EvaMobs project to an audience of 30 professors working in primary schools.
Maja commented: “I hope my presentation helped the audience gain a deeper understanding of the complex process of drug discovery and how innovative platforms like EvaMobs can accelerate the transition from lead compound discovery to market availability. Additionally, I wanted to highlight the unique advantages of peptide-based drugs compared to traditional small-molecule therapies.”
"...innovative platforms like EvaMobs can accelerate the transition from lead compound discovery to market availability."
Engaging discussions
Since the audience consisted of primary school natural science teachers, they were already familiar with the basic terminology, making it easier to communicate key concepts. It sparked interesting discussions. Maja explained: “The most engaging discussion afterward revolved around the limited coverage of viruses in the current primary school curriculum. Many teachers noted that this gap in education might contribute to a lack of foundational knowledge about virology in adulthood, potentially influencing attitudes toward vaccines.”
Upcoming work
In the coming months, the primary focus of Maja and her team will be on conducting a thorough preliminary screening for potential cytotoxicity and off-target effects of monobody therapeutics designed for SARS-CoV-2 and influenza H3N2. This step is crucial to ensuring their safety and druggability before progressing to further development stages.
Curious to know more? Learn about the preclinical validation work of work package 3 here:
