NEWS With Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, most of laboratory research came to a halt. With bombing of institutes, frequent loss of electricity, and nights spent in bomb shelters, the life of the researchers has changed drastically. When most of the teaching and research takes place online, the visit to Umeå University provided not only a break from the war, but a source of inspiration and possible collaborations.
Annika Johansson, Head of unit at the Swedish Metabolomics Center (SMC) at Umeå university and SLU, introduces the metabolomics research that takes place at SMC. SMC is part of the Metabolomics platform at SciLifeLab.
ImageRebecca ForsbergI think this visit will inspire them for the rest of their lives,
says Olena Myronycheva, associate senior lecturer at Luleå University of Technology, during their visit to Umeå University. She is behind UNSTE (Ukraine Natural Science Talent Empowerment), a project with the aim of empowering young Ukrainian researchers and training them in natural science topics.
“Since February 2022, most of our activities and research take place online”, explains visitor Tetiana Konovalenko, who organised the trip to Sweden together with Olena Myronycheva. As part of her PhD thesis, she studies the impact of international projects on higher education in Ukraine, and hopes to use the visit as the basis for her work.
“I study how research benefits from international cooperation, and the need for connections and collaborations outside of Ukraine is immense right now, as is access to equipment and labs,” she says.
Linda Sandblad, researcher at the Department of Chemistry, Director for SciLifeLab site Umeå and Umeå Centre for Electron Microscopy, introduces the facilities and possible collaboration oppurtunities.
ImageRebecca ForsbergAs a part of UNSTE, several PhD students and young researchers in molecular biology, biotechnology, and plant science at Ukrainian universities, were selected to visit the Swedish universities in the north, spending two days at Umeå University, SciLifeLab and Umeå Plant Science Center.
“During my studies and research in Sweden I have always had good collaborations with Umeå and wanted to show the possibilities here to the students. I think they could have many opportunities here,” says Olena Myronycheva.
Meeting the researchers and seeing the labs here in Umeå shows us what is possible
During the two-day visit, they visited several of the labs and infrastructures at the Chemical Biological Center (KBC), learned about opportunities through SciLifeLab and the upcoming SciLifeLab postdoctoral programme, PULSE, Umeå Plant Science Center as well as connected with researchers here in Umeå and sparked ideas for collaborations. All participants from Ukraine expressed great gratitude to all researchers and staff at Umeå that gave extensive information about advanced research methods and equipment.
Tobias Sparrman, staff scientist at the NMR facility, introduces the visitors to the techniques and methods used at the unit.
ImageRebecca Forsberg“The high level of the equipment and labs here are something that I could only dream of in Ukraine right now”, says Alina Kerner, a PhD student at the M.G. Kholodny Institute of Botany of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in Kyiv.
As part of her PhD, she is researching how certain fungi might help address chemicals that contain fluorine –– chemicals that are often difficult to break down and can be harmful to the environment. “Meeting everyone here in Umeå has been a very happy event and inspirational boost,” she says.
Her colleague, PhD student Svitlana Bondaruk, who also studies fungi usages in biotransformation, says that “meeting the researchers and seeing the labs here in Umeå shows us what is possible”.
During the visit, Umeå university also provided information and advice on grants and funding, support which Alina Kerner and Svitlana Bondaruk explains are invaluable in their situation.
They explain that although they now have access to their laboratories in Kyiv “we experience more or less daily cuts in electricity, and the labs shake due to close bombing”. They share about starting over experiments from scratch when there is an electricity shortage, or if they have to leave for the bomb shelter.
“Many times, I’ve brought my laptop to the shelter to continue analysis of data,” says Svitlana Bondaruk.
From left to right: Alina Kerner, Svitlana Bondaruk, PhD students at the National University of Food Technologies, Keiv, and Daria Pylypenko, associate professor State Biotechnological University, Kharkiv.
ImageRebecca ForsbergAlthough the many difficulties in conducting the research, their interest in the science keeps them going, and they hope to one day make an impact in science that reminds the scientific community that Ukraine is still standing. “If I publish a paper in an international journal, the world will see that we are still alive, we are still doing research, and we still have a future,” says Alina Kerner.
“It has been amazing to see the facilities here in Umeå, the labs and infrastructures. Everyone has been very welcoming, and we are very grateful for the opportunity to visit and ignite collaborations,” says Daria Pylypenko, associate professor at the State Biotechnological University in Kharkiv, Ukraine.
UNSTE is a project finances by the Swedish Institute Baltic Sea Neighbourhood Programme. The project spans two years, 2024-2026, and aims to support young Ukrainian researchers, provided by Swedish researchers and universities.
Read more about the project at the Swedish Insitute.
Contact person for the project is Olena Myronycheva, olena.myronycheva@ltu.se
