February news from the ECR subcommittee

Dear colleagues, 

We are celebrating our birthday! It’s already been 3 years since the formation of the ECR subcommittee! We are very happy to reflect on what we have achieved so far for early career researchers, and we thank you all for the support that you have shown to us along the way. For more years to come!

In today's newsletter, we will do a sum-up of how much the ECR subcommittee has grown its first three years. We will also announce the upcoming March’s webinar discussing redox, exercise and nutrition and share with you a summary of February’s webinar. At the end of the newsletter, as always, you can also find a collection of upcoming events with important deadlines, some suggestions of interesting redox reads recently published, open call for papers and job opportunities for young redox researchers.

Three years of the ECR subcommittee: what we have achieved so far!

It seems like yesterday when this exciting journey of creating an ECR subcommittee composed by early career researchers and for early career researchers began. And look at us now! It’s been three years of intense work, networking and learning. This is what we have achieved so far:

• Webinar series: On the 7^th February 2022, we launched our webinar series “Emerging leaders in redox biology”. So far we’ve organised 19 webinars on a wide variety of topics: from NADPH oxidases to persulfides, from aging to exercise, from peer review to mental health. We are delighted to see the great reception these webinars have had, and we are already working in the next edition!
  
  
• Social media: We have created accounts on different platforms. Many of you follow us on our fun and creative Instagram account (https://www.instagram.com/sfrr_ecr/), so far we have 1026 followers! Some of you are more into the professional-oriented LinkedIn where we already have 378 followers (https://www.linkedin.com/company/sfrr-e-ecr/)! Or maybe you prefer our X account that counts 946 followers. However we are transitioning to Bluesky, so please follow us there (https://bsky.app/profile/sfrre-ecr.bsky.social)!
  
  
• SFRR-E meetings: Starting in Ghent 2022, we have had the opportunity to organise some activities at the annual SFRR-Europe conferences. Thanks to your participation and interest in these events, we’ve been gradually increasing the number of activities that we plan. Last year in Istanbul we organised a successful ECR networking event, a meet the professor session, two sunrise seminars and the first ECR symposium with only young speakers! We will soon announce what we have planned for Galway conference, but you can check the schedule for some hints https://www.sfrrgalway2025.com/ 
  
  
• Mentoring program: In 2023 we created a mentoring program in which we paired young scientists with senior scientists to get career and professional advice. We have run this program now for two cohorts and organised the first mentoring lunch at Istanbul’s conference last year. We are over the moon with your positive experiences, knowing that it is helping you grow makes all the efforts worth it! We are happy to announce that the program will run for a third year, stay tuned!
  
  
• Editorial mentoring program: We created a new editorial mentoring program in which selected young scientists are paired with an editor of the best redox journals for a year to learn how editorial work functions. The program is now running and the first cohort is getting hands-on experience.

The ECR subcommittee works very hard to deliver all these. We are very pleased that our efforts are so well appreciated and we are very thankful for all the feedback and the support you have given us. Recently FEBS asked us to write a piece about our work highlighting our achievements. You can see it here: https://network.febs.org/posts/what-is-the-ecr-subcommittee-of-the-sfrr-europe-up-to-the-new-kid-on-the-block 

 

Next Webinar series “Emerging leaders in redox biology”

The next webinar of the year will take place on March 4th, 2025, at 15:00 CET, focusing on the hot topic “H₂S redox signaling” with featured speakers Stephen Bailey, Edziu Franczak and Lewan Parker. 

Influence of dietary nitrate supplementation on skeletal muscle redox processes, physiological responses and exercise performance

Stephen Bailey, PhD

Loughborough University, UK

Stephen’s research focuses on exercise and nutritional interventions to improve nitric oxide production, cardiovascular health, oxidative metabolism and exercise performance.  Stephen has published over 150 research outputs on these topics.  He is a Fellow of the European College of Sport Science, a member of The Physiological Society, and he serves on the editorial board of two international journals and as a judge for the European Specialists Sports Nutrition Awards.

 

Mitochondrial quality control: Another reason why women are superior

Edziu Franczak, PhD candidate

University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas, USA

Edziu is a PhD student in Dr. John Thyfault's lab at the University of Kansas Medical Center. His research focuses on understanding the mechanisms that regulate the pathogenesis and treatment of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) in the context of exercise and dietary metabolic stressors. Specifically, his research aims to understand how estrogen-mediated signaling modulates hepatic mitochondrial respiratory capacity and quality control mechanisms that may foster innate protection against MASLD in female rodent models. 

 

The effect of exercise and nutrient ingestion on biomarkers of redox homeostasis

Lewan Parker, PhD

Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, Australia

Dr Parker is a joint NHMRC & Heart Foundation Early Career Fellow and leader of the Redox Regulation of Health and Disease research group at Deakin’s Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN). Dr Parker's internationally recognised research program explores how physical activity, redox biology, bone metabolism, and vascular health, regulate glycaemic control, exercise capacity, and cardiometabolic health and disease. Through the identification of novel mechanisms, his research continues to explore new ways to harness exercise and nutrition for the prevention, management, and treatment of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Summary of February’s webinar:

On February's webinar we learnt about “H₂S redox signaling” with two inspiring talks by Denisse Scufi and Jan Miljkovic. If you didn’t have a chance to follow the webinar, here’s a summary for you. Remember that you can also watch the recordings of the webinars through the SFRR-E intranet. 

Hydrogen sulfide role in stomatal immunity

Denisse Scufi, PhD

Signaling Mechanisms in Plants Lab, IIB-CONICET-UNMdP, Mar Del Plata, Argentina

Shut the Pore! - Stomata are natural pores on the leaf surface that help plants exchange gases with the environment. Stomata also function as entry points for pathogens. Plants can regulate stomata closure by different molecular mechanisms, including phytohormones, hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), or the recognition of peptide effectors from the pathogen, among others. In this webinar, Dr. Denise Scuffi shared their latest work characterising the role of H₂S in the pathogen-induced stomata closure. This was evaluated using a mutant line in cytosolic L-CYSTEINE DESULFHIDRASE 1 (DES1), the main source of cytosolic H₂S in plants. They proved that stomata closure in des1 plants does not happen after exposition to either the pathogen or the effector. A response that can be reversed in des1 plants is treating these mutants with an H₂S donor. Moreover, they further conclude that the role of H2S in regulating stomata closure is also linked with the control of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and intracellular calcium homeostasis. We invite everyone to check Dr. Scuffi’s research in their latest preprint (https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.02.14.638267).

 

Mitochondria-Targeted Protection Against Cardiac Ischemia-Reperfusion via Rapid Persulfide and H2S Release

Jan Miljkovic, PhD

MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit, University of Cambridge, UK

Hydrogen Sulfide to the Heart- In this webinar, Dr. Jan Miljkovic presented his work on creating, designing, and applying sulfur-containing molecules to treat the damage produced by cardiac ischemia reperfusion (IRI). These molecules act as hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) donors, which has been demonstrated to be beneficial for cardiac pathologies. The multiple roles of H₂S include scavenging ROS/RNS, binding to the metal centres of proteins, and promoting a post-translational modification called S-sulfhydration. In their novel approach, Dr. Miljkovic showed how a targeted delivery of H₂S from mitochondria, using targeted compounds that serve as H₂S donors, could represent a therapeutic opportunity to alleviate IRI. Among these compounds, using MitoPerSulf before IRI showed a significant cardioprotective effect in a mouse model, limiting the IRI-associated damage. These results show MitoPerSulf as a cardioprotective strategy with great potential against the damaging effects of IRI when applied in a precise time window before the tissues become ischemic. For more details, please check Dr. Miljkovic’s work published in Redox Biology (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.redox.2022.102429).

 

More information about the ECR Subcommittee can be found on the SFRR-E website (ECR Committee), while regular updates can be found on Twitter (@SFRR_Europe), Instagram (@sfrr_ecr) and LinkedIn (SFRR-E). For any question or suggestion you might have, you can contact us via email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Hope to see you online for our next Webinar Series appointment,

The ECR subcommittee

 

Upcoming events:

UK Redox Network Meeting

• 28 April 2025
• Location: London, UK

 

22nd SFRRI Biennial Meeting

• The New Era of Redox Biology: from Basic Biochemistry to Redox Omics
• 3 - 6 June 2025
• Location: Galway, Ireland
• Deadlines:
  • Travel Grant Applications: 10 January 2025
  • Abstract Submission: 10 February 2025
  • Early Bird Registration: 31 March 2025
• Further information: https://www.sfrrgalway2025.com

 

 FASEB Science Research Conference. Ferroptosis, Oxidative Stress, and Lipid Metabolism

• 27 - 31 July 2025
• Location: Scottsdale, Arizona
• Deadlines:
  • Abstract Submission: 1 June 2025
  • Early Registration: 15 June 2025
  • Housing: 13 July 2025
• Further information: https://events.faseb.org/event/11797f9e-df16-42b9-9c47-f1e06713c4fb/summary

 

EMBO Workshop: Thiol based redox switches: From chemistry to physiology and pathology

• 13 - 18 September 2025
• Location: Sant Feliu de Guixols, Spain
• Abstract Submission Deadline: 18 May 2025
• https://meetings.embo.org/event/25-thiol-switches

 

Interesting Redox Papers:

Cobley, J.N., Chatzinikolaou, P.N. & Schmidt, C.A. The nonlinear cysteine redox dynamics in the i-space: A proteoform-centric theory of redox regulation. Redox Biol (2025). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.redox.2025.103523

Zhang, Q., Liu, X. & Wei, Q. Apoptotic breast cancer cells after chemotherapy induce pro-tumour extracellular vesicles via LAP-competent macrophages. Redox Biol (2025). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.redox.2024.103485

Cendali, F.I., Lisk, C., Dzieciatkowska, M., et al. Increased exercise tolerance in humanized G6PD-deficient mice. Blood Adv (2025). https://doi.org/10.1182/bloodadvances.2024013968

Smiriglia, A., Lorito, N., Bacci, M., et al. Estrogen-dependent activation of TRX2 reverses oxidative stress and metabolic dysfunction associated with steatotic disease. Cell Death Dis (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41419-025-07331-7

Li, H., Furusawa, T., Cavero, R., et al. Metabolic dependency mapping identifies Peroxiredoxin 1 as a driver of resistance to ATM inhibition. Redox Biol (2025). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.redox.2025.103503

Valeros, J., Jerome, M., Tseyang, T., et al. Rhodoquinone carries electrons in the mammalian electron transport chain. Cell (2025). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2024.12.007

Torres-López, M., Spiller, P.F., Gao, L., et al.. Acute oxygen sensing by arterial chemoreceptors with a mutant mitochondrial complex I ND6 subunit lacking reverse electron transport. FEBS Lett (2025). https://doi.org/10.1002/1873-3468.70017

Morton, K.S., George, A.J. & Meyer, J.N. Complex I superoxide anion production is necessary and sufficient for complex I inhibitor-induced dopaminergic neurodegeneration in Caenorhabditis elegans. Redox Biol (2025). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.redox.2025.103538

Petrovic, D., Slade, L., Paikopoulos, Y., et al. Ergothioneine improves healthspan of aged animals by enhancing cGPDH activity through CSE-dependent persulfidation. Cell Metab (2025). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2024.12.008

 

Insightful Redox Reviews:

Liu, P., Liu, Z.Y., Mao, S., et al. Targeted mitochondrial function for cardiac fibrosis: An epigenetic perspective. Free Radic Biol Med (2025). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2025.01.001

Chrzan, N. & Hartman, M.L. Copper in melanoma: At the crossroad of protumorigenic and anticancer roles. Redox Biol (2025). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.redox.2025.103552

Guo, Q., Tang, Y., Wang, S & Xia, X. Applications and enhancement strategies of ROS-based non-invasive therapies in cancer treatment. Redox Biol (2025). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.redox.2025.103515

Fuentes-Lemus, E., Usgame, K., Fierro, A. & López-Alarcón, C. Enzymes of glycolysis and the pentose phosphate pathway as targets of oxidants: Role of redox reactions on the carbohydrate catabolism. Redox Biochem Chem (2025). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rbc.2025.100049 

 

Lastest Redox Preprints:

Lang, L., Leiskau, L., Thullen, L. & Deponte, M. H2S is a potential universal reducing agent for Prx6-type peroxiredoxins. BioRxiv (2025). https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.02.13.638076

Wyckelsma, V.L., Murgia, M., Kamandulis, S., et al. Antioxidant supplementation blunts the proteome response to three weeks of sprint interval training preferentially in human type 2 muscle fibres. BioRxiv (2025). https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.01.27.634979

 

Call for papers:

• Journal: Free Radical Biology and Medicine
• Special Issue: Redox medicine: Translation of Basic science to the Clinic
• Submission deadline: 1 March 2025
• More information: https://www.sciencedirect.com/special-issue/314690/redox-medicine-translation-of-basic-science-to-the-clinic

   

Redox Job Opportunities:

Remember that if there’s an open position in your lab for early career researchers and you would like to advertise it in our newsletter, just write us an email (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) containing the following information:

• Kind of position: (PhD student, Postdoc, etc)
• Research topic
• Institute/University
• Deadline
• Contact information
• Further information about the position (if any)