Centre for Proteomics – Faculty of Medicine in Rijeka

Centre for Proteomics
Faculty of Medicine in Rijeka
Braće Branchetta 20, 51000 Rijeka
Phone: +385 51 651 260
Phone: +385 51 651 250
Phone: +385 51 651 280
Phone: +385 51 345 655

Contact

Head:
Asst. Prof. Ilija Brizić, PhD
E-mail: ilija.brizic@uniri.hr
Phone: +385 51 651 235

About the Centre

The Centre for Proteomics was established in 2006, focusing on the production and characterisation of monoclonal antibodies, which are indispensable instruments in basic biomedical research, but also in developing medicines and biotechnological products. Although part of the University of Rijeka Faculty of Medicine, the Centre is currently funded exclusively from competitive national, European and international grants and commercial activities, making it a unique research department in Croatian academia.

The underlying idea to establish the Centre for Proteomics was first initiated by experts from the World Bank in 2002, who highlighted in their report the Center for Proteomics’ project as one of three promising projects that the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports (MSES) should support in the World Bank grant application. By allocating financial resources for the construction of the Centre building, which was completed in the summer of 2003, the Faculty of Medicine in Rijeka contributed significantly to the realisation of the project. Capital and laboratory equipment were purchased through the JEZGRA project supported by the Croatian Ministry of Science, Education and Sports.

Since its establishment, the Centre has participated in more than thirty collaborative projects with prestigious research institutes, universities and biotech SMEs from SE Europe, the EU and the USA. These projects are mainly based on the production and characterisation of mAbs for research purposes. In many instances, the reagents generated at the Centre have played a key role in various discoveries and resulted in joint publications in the leading journals. The Centre currently has at its disposal several hundred hybridoma cell lines, which secrete antibodies to various viral and cellular proteins.

The Centre for Proteomics will continue to encourage the development of its biomedical potential and international scientific collaboration in accordance with the growing need of the industry and the scientific community for monoclonal antibodies due to their key role in the research of proteins and their use for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. Furthermore, the Centre will strive to implement new initiatives to achieve self-sustainability, and one of the possibilities is the commercialisation of monoclonal antibodies through establishing a spin-off company or licensing agreements.

Staff