Recent News
Rector awards Pausch lab
​To promote excellence in scientific research, the VU Rector presented awards for the most significant scientific achievements of 2024.
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The Rector’s Prize for Best Publication in the fields of natural sciences, technology, medicine and health, and agriculture was awarded to a group of researchers at the VU LSC EMBL Partnership Institute: RimvydÄ— ÄŒepaitÄ—, Dr. Algirdas Mikšys, Viktoras Ragožius, Gintare ŽvejytÄ—, Dr. AistÄ— SkorupskaitÄ—, Dr. Lina MalinauskaitÄ—, and Dr. Patrick Pausch. Our team was recognized for their publication, which investigated structural variations of CRISPR types IV-A1 and IV-A3 and their roles in gene silencing.
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In the category of Best International Project, an award was presented to Dr. Patrick Pausch, Research Professor at the VU LSC EMBL Partnership Institute, for his ERC Starting Grant project.
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Last, but not least, Gintare Žvejytė was awarded a magna cum laude for her Bachelor's thesis in our lab!
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Vilnius University Researchers Uncover New Gene Silencing Mechanism
Scientists from Vilnius University's (VU) Life Sciences Center (LSC) have discovered a unique way for cells to silence specific genes without cutting DNA. This groundbreaking research, led by Prof. Patrick Pausch and published in the journal Nature Communications, reveals a new way to silence genes akin to pressing a "pause" button on specific genetic instructions within cells.
ERC Starting Grant
Prof. Patrick Pausch from the Life Sciences Center-European Molecular Biology Laboratory (LSC-EMBL) Partnership Institute at Vilnius University (VU) has been awarded a prestigious European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant of €1.5 million for his innovative research project "Jumbo Phages in Translational Enzyme Research" (JUPITER).
Over the next five years, Prof. Pausch and his team at VU will explore jumbo phages - a class of large viruses that infect bacteria - by studying their uncharacterized genes and potential applications in biotechnology.
