January 2025 news from the ECR subcommittee

Dear colleagues, 

Happy New Year!

We are wishing you a prosperous year, with exciting discoveries, important publications and progress and growth in your career! We are hoping to see you all in person in Galway in June this year for the SFRR-I meeting hosted by SFRR-E! Don’t forget to submit your abstract by the 10th of February!

In today's newsletter, we will present to you the first cohort of the Editorial Mentoring Programme. We will also announce the upcoming February’s webinar discussing H₂S redox signaling and share with you a summary of December’s and January’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.

The SFRR-E ECR Editorial mentoring programme is here!

We are delighted to announce that the ECR editorial mentoring programme is now underway!

The SFRR-E ECR committee with support from the SFRR-E, the SFRR-E official journals and Elsevier announced the launch of a new ECR editorial mentoring programme late last year. The aim of the programme is to offer Early Career Researchers (ECRs) the opportunity to increase their engagement with scientific publishing and gain experience in editorial board work and manuscript handling.

Seven selected mentees have now started working with Rafael Teixeira, receiving training information on the roles of editors and the Elsevier online system. When the training is completed, each mentee will start working with their mentor until the end of the year. The mentors on the programme are Andreas Daiber (Redox Biology), Giovanni Mann (FRBM) and Michael Davies (RBC).

We believe that the mentees will learn a lot from the vast expertise of the mentors and they will benefit tremendously from this experience. We are thankful to everybody who made this programme possible!

Next Webinar series “Emerging leaders in redox biology”

The next webinar of the year will take place on February 4th, 2025, at 15:00 CET, focusing on the hot topic “H₂S redox signaling” with featured speakers Denisse Scufi and Jan Miljkovic.

Hydrogen sulfide role in stomatal immunity

Denisse Scufi, PhD

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

She is a researcher at Signaling Mechanisms in Plants Lab at the IIB-CONICET-UNMdP, Argentina. During her PhD she established the link between gasotransmitters and phospholipids in stomatal movements under Drs. García-Mata and Laxalt supervision. Furthermore, she visited the Plant Energy Biology Lab head of Dr. Schwarzländer in Germany where she trained in studying the dynamics of reactive oxygen species and redox regulation in living plant cells through novel fluorescent protein sensors. She is particularly focused on hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) involvement during stomatal immunity and the signalling behind it. Furthermore, she is interested in finding target proteins of the posttranslational modification (PTM) triggered by H₂S, known as persulfidation, and how this PTM modulates target proteins in the plant-pathogen context.

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

Jan Miljkovic, PhD

MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit, University of Cambridge, UK

He is a Senior Research Associate at the MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit, University of Cambridge, UK. His research background, beginning with Ph.D. training, established expertise in gasotransmitters (e.g., NO, HNO, and H₂S) and redox-related mechanisms within cellular biology, particularly concerning reactive oxygen species and protein posttranslational modifications. Building on this foundation, his postdoctoral training expanded his focus to include the effects of dietary interventions, caloric restriction, and H₂S on metabolism and longevity, with an emphasis on their translational applications.

Currently, his work centres on H₂S-based regulation of mitochondrial and cellular metabolism, with the goal of developing novel therapeutics that advance lifespan research and enhance our understanding of redox regulation in both normal and altered cellular homeostasis.

Summary of December’s and January’s webinar:

On December's webinar we learnt about “Redox Methods” with two inspiring talks by James Cobley and Rafael Argüello while in January, the focus was on “Environmental stressors in cardiovascular diseases” and we enjoyed two great talks by Timoteo Marchini and Marin Kuntic. 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.

Oxiforms: Redox biology at the proteoform level

James Cobley, PhD

School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom

The talk provided a mathematical description of cysteine redox proteoforms, covering how they are distributed into percentage redox grades. Their geometry with respect to binomial theorem-Pascal’s triangle-was also delineated. Computational experiments suggest highly oxidised cysteine redox proteoforms might form in the context of redox regulation. A novel method called Cleland Immunoblotting confirmed that this might be the case, revealing unexpected cysteine redox proteoforms. This emerging area is expected to generate new insights in redox biology.

 

Decoding complexity: A closer look at stress, metabolism and epigenetic crosstalks through Epic-SCENITH and SNUPR

Rafael Argüello, PhD

Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, INSERM, CIML, Centre d'Immunologie de Marseille-Luminy, Marseille, France

Advancing personalized medicine through metabolic profiling. In our latest webinar, Rafael Argüello shared with us the critical need for personalized medicine to address the alarming 86% failure rate in conventional clinical trials. He emphasized how the future of personalized diagnosis relies on the identification of independent patient characteristics beyond superficial clinical data. By leveraging advanced metabolic profiling and comprehensive blood assays, His research aims to uncover deeper insights into individual patient biology, focused on the intricate nature of cellular metabolism using SCENITH, a groundbreaking, flow cytometry-based technique designed to profile energy metabolism at the single-cell level. SCENITH operates by blocking specific metabolic pathways to halt ATP production, allowing precise measurement of cellular responses using Seahorse technology. This method enables the detection of changes in protein synthesis and offers detailed metabolic profiles of diverse cell types. As an example, this method allows the analysis of myeloid cells within solid tumors such as meningioma and renal carcinoma. The technique reveals varied metabolic profiles that are independent of cell lineage or activation states, providing essential data for understanding tumor microenvironments and immune responses. Additionally, SCENITH is optimized for ex vivo studies, particularly beneficial for rare cells in whole blood samples, thereby minimizing biases introduced by culture media.

Redox and inflammatory mechanisms linking air pollution PM2.5 exposure with cardiovascular disease and metabolic derangements

Timoteo Marchini, PhD

Vascular Immunology Laboratory, Department of Cardiology and Angiology, University Medical Center, Freiburg, Germany

Leave the car and use the bike – Dr. Timoteo Marchini shared with us his research focused on how cardiovascular and respiratory health is affected by air pollution, specifically the fine particulate matter (PM2.5) that comes from fossil fuel combustion. These particles reach deep into the lungs, initiating oxidative stress and inflammation, which aggravates myocardial infarction and stroke, accelerates atherosclerosis, and promotes cardiovascular risk factor development (e.g., obesity). Their experimental approach uses collected PM2.5 samples in vitro and in vivo (acute) settings, as well as chronic models of whole-body exposure to polluted urban air. These models revealed early markers of lung inflammation, such as increased leukocyte counts and pro-inflammatory cytokine release driven by preceding rises in oxidized glutathione levels. Dr. Marchini described how chronic urban air exposure in mice causes pulmonary inflammation and impaired cardiac mitochondrial function. Alterations that contribute to greater myocardial damage following ischemia-reperfusion injury. They managed to pinpoint that the NLRP3 inflammasome in macrophages is activated by PM2.5 through lysosomal disruption and mitochondrial dysfunction, leading to the release of IL-1β.

Effects of combined exposure to noise and particulate matter

Marin Kuntic, PhD

Johannes Gutenberg University Medical Center, Mainz, Germany

It’s a pollutant? It’s a plane? – Dr. Marin Kuntic presented his research on how air and noise pollution affect us, with a focus on aircraft noise and its impact on cardiovascular health. Noise pollution is more than just an annoyance and it constitutes a serious public health risk that affects a portion of the European population. Importantly, Dr. Kuntic’s research uncovered that sustained noise exposure is linked to markers of oxidative stress and endothelial dysfunction, critical precursors to cardiovascular complications. Using a mouse model, they study h ow cardiovascular drugs might mitigate these adverse effects. Mice exposed to aircraft noise were treated with a combination of the beta-blocker propranolol and the alpha-blocker phenoxybenzamine. These compounds effectively prevented noise-induced endothelial and microvascular dysfunction, suggesting potential pathways to safeguard human cardiovascular health against environmental stressors.

More information about the ECR Subcommittee can be found on the SFRR-E website https://www.sfrr-europe.org/index.php/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:

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

 

 

Interesting Redox Papers:

Scherschel, M., Niemeier, J-O., Jacobs, L.J.H.C., et al. A family of NADPH/NADP+ biosensors reveals in vivo dynamics of central redox metabolism across eukaryotes. Nat Comm (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55302-x

Ostrom, E.L., Stuppard, R., Mattson-Hughes, A. & Marcinek, D.J. Inducible and reversible SOD2 knockdown in mouse skeletal muscle drives impaired pyruvate oxidation and reduced metabolic flexibility. Free Radic Biol Med (2025). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2024.10.310 

Zimmermann, J., Lang, L., Calabrese, G., et al. Tsa1 is the dominant peroxide scavenger and a source of H2O2-dependent GSSG production in yeast. Free Radic Biol Med (2025). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2024.11.004

Obermann, T., Sakshaug , T., Kanagaraj , V.V., et al. Genomic 8-oxoguanine modulates gene transcription independent of its repair by DNA glycosylases OGG1 and MUTYH. Redox Biol (2025). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.redox.2024.103461

Zhang, Q.Y., Zhang, H.Y., Feng, S.G., et al. Macrophage metabolic reprogramming ameliorates diabetes-induced microvascular dysfunction. Redox Biol (2025). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.redox.2024.103449

Eaglesfield, R., Fernandez-Vizarra, E., Lacko, E., et al. Sub-organellar mitochondrial hydrogen peroxide observed using a SNAP tag targeted coumarin-based fluorescent reporter. Redox Biol (2025). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.redox.2025.103502

Shields, S., Gregory, E., Wilkes, O., et al. Oxidative Stress Promotes Axonal Atrophy through Alterations in Microtubules and EB1 Function. Aging Dis (2025). https://doi.org/10.14336/AD.2024.0839

 

 

Insightful Redox Reviews:

Fujii, J., Ochi, H. & Yamada, S. A comprehensive review of peroxiredoxin 4, a redox protein evolved in oxidative protein folding coupled with hydrogen peroxide detoxification. Free Radic Biol Med (2025). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2024.12.015

Matrullo, G., Filomeni, G. et Rizza, S. Redox regulation of focal adhesions. Redox Biol (2025). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.redox.2025.103514 

Rojo, A.I., Buttari, B., Cadenas, S., et al. Model organisms for investigating the functional involvement of NRF2 in non-communicable diseases. Redox Biol (2025). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.redox.2024.103464

Ghosal, J., Sinchana, V.K. & Chakrabarty, S. Ferroptosis meets microRNAs: A new frontier in anti-cancer therapy. Free Radic Biol Med (2025). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2024.11.023

Huang, H., Chen, Y., Xu, W. et al. Decoding aging clocks: New insights from metabolomics. Cell Metab (2025). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2024.11.007

 

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:

Postdoc positions

• Kind of position: Postdoc (2 years)
• Research topic: Physiology and Pharmacology
• Institute/University: Karolinska Institute, Stockholm
• Deadline: 31st January 2025
• Contact information: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• Further information about the position: We are searching for someone skilled in biochemistry and/or chemical biology. Knowledge in EPR technique is highly appreciated.

PhD positions

• Kind of position: PhD position (4 years)
• Research topic: Understanding intracellular redox heterogeneity
• Institute/University: The University of Liverpool
• Deadline: 31 January 2025
• Contact information: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• Further information about the position: A PhD position (fully funded for UK students only) is available at the lab of Dr P. Kritsiligkou. Please contact them directly for more information on how to apply.

 

• Kind of position: PhD position (4 years)
• Research topic: RNA modifications under stress conditions
• Deadline: 31 January 2025
• Contact information: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• Further information about the position: A PhD position (fully funded for students world-wide) is available at the lab of Dr P. Kritsiligkou. Please contact them directly for more information on how to apply.

 

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)