The very first guest of the new (Ne)Vědkyně podcast is Ladislav Sivák, the Head of the Laboratory of Tumor Biology and Immunology at the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Mendel University in Brno. Ladislav dedicated his career to the field of Immunology, in his laboratory he mainly deals with the treatment of cancer with the help of nanoparticles and the growing resistance o antibiotics. But has it always been his dream? And what is so special about cancer that the whole world is dealing with it? You will learn this, and much more, in Part 1 of the (Ne)Vědkyně podcast, which was created at the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and which seeks to reveal the beauty of science to all who wants to understand the world and who wants to keep up.
Here are some extracts from the whole interview:
Laďo, did you want to become a scientist from an early age?
I always wanted and dreamed of being a doctor. I got into medicine and started studying at the 1st Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague. In the second year, however, I became more interested in theory than practice itself. At that time, I was interested in the field of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry of Organisms, about which I knew nothing, but I applied for it and was accepted. For a year I tried to study these two schools at the same time, but then I started to specialize only in this field and I stoped study medicine as such. My career as a scientist therefore began at the Faculty of Science of Charles University with a bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry of Organisms. The biochemistry of organisms did not tell me anything at all at that time, but the study was very interesting and thanks to him I came across the field of Immunology, to which I then dedicated my whole career.
This field looks very interesting, because everything is actually related to immunity today, right?
That’s right, this field was developing at the beginning of my studies. Today, there are already a number of diseases that we did not previously know were related to immunology. Overall, many diseases are viewed in a completely different way today – as an example, diabetes, for which we already know that the immune system is able to kill the cells that produce insulin. But we do not know why, so this field is still partially unknown. Regulation of the immune system is now at the forefront of the treatment of the final version of various diseases, as it did not before.
As the Head of the Laboratory of Tumor Biology and Immunology at our Department, you lead, among other things, your team, what is it like for you?
The experience is new to me, although I already had several students below me, but the head of the laboratory was always someone else. Currently, in our laboratory we are trying to focus mainly on the regulation of tumors of an immunosuppressive nature using nanoparticles. The variety of topics that we are solving and that can be
solved is becoming bigger and bigger, and in addition there are far more students who are interested in this issue, for which I am very happy. The students who are in the lab below me are absolutely great, they are able to lead their own projects, all I have to do is give them the right idea. Without such students, I probably wouldn’t be able to do it at all. I’m glad I realized, and I know that just as students can’t function without us, neither can we function without them. And we should be here to guide them and show them that science is beautiful.
Could you somehow describe to us what nanoparticles are in more real terms? Because we pay so much attention to it at our Department.
Nanoparticles have been used mainly in the study of tumors because they can be directed in the body. This is a great advantage, for example, in drug development, where nanoparticles can reduce the toxicity of the drug itself. Because they move freely throughout the body and can pass through the whole body, they can target a specific tumor and deliver the adjuvant to the tumor itself, and not just to the tumor.
Why are you dealing with cancer in your research?
Cancer is very scientifically unique because, first and foremost, a tumor cell has many special properties that a normal human cell does not have. This cell is able to move not only forward but also backward in its development, and thus allows a particular tumor to metastasize in other parts of the body through the bloodstream. Furthermore, this tumor cell and the tumor itself manages to adapt to the immune system and drugs, and at the same time uses the mechanisms of other substances for survival and reproduction. Cancer is therefore a very specific and still finally unexplored topic.
Could there ever be a single treatment for every cancer?
At present, the treatment of tumors is more of an individual path and a path of personalization, it is always solved on the basis of a specific patient and a specific form of the disease. If we wanted to invent a single drug for all types of tumors, we would have to face a large number of all the various factors that affect this disease, which is not yet entirely possible so that the final treatment is not harmful rather than helpful. Some types of drugs are otherwise sensitive to different types of tumors, but of course we also have tumors that are strongly resistant to all types of drugs. However, both of these models are very important and interesting for the research itself. In my opinion, however, a single cure for cancer is still a very distant future.
How can we prevent cancer?
Most tumors develop under some influence, whether genetic or otherwise. The external environment has an undeniable influence on the development of cancer, but since we must take into account a wide range of factors, their combinations and possibilities of influence in a particular person, there is no way to advise on anything specific we could do to prevent these diseases. Man lives in an environment that constantly affects him, which is why this issue and the study of individual influences is very complex and demanding.
We will be glad if you listen to the whole interview and support our new podcast (Ne)Vědkyně. Part 1 with Ladislav Sivák can be found here: