AJF Simona Gričar Researched Structural Biology and the Country’s Natural Beauty in Australia

ASEF Junior Fellow Simona Gričar has successfully finished her research visit at the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. She worked under the mentorship of Prof Boštjan Kobe.

In her research Simona, who is a junior researcher at the Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, University of Ljubljana, focuses on the synthesis and evaluation of inhibitors of metalloenzymes. During her research visit at The University of Queensland, she worked in the field of structural biology and biochemistry, focusing on the inhibition of metallo-β-lactamase enzymes, which enable antibiotic resistance of pathogenic bacteria. She prepared crystals of potential inhibitors bound to a metalloenzyme with the purpose of 3D structure determination with X-ray structure analysis. The analysis is still underway and Simona and her coworkers hope it will lead to a nice publication in a scientific journal.

In her free time, Simona was discovering the beauty of Brisbane and the East Coast of Australia. Among others, she went camping at Noosa National Park, surfing at the Gold Coast, and snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef, all of which were unforgettable experiences.

Simona is grateful to ASEF and Prof Kobe for this amazing opportunity, which boosted her professional and personal growth.