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Graduate Ján Jozef Liener, who worked at the Biomedical Research Center of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (BMC SAS) under the supervision of Dr Božena Smolková on the topic of using beneficial substances from brewing waste in cancer treatment, ranked among the top three in the university student category of this year’s Young Oncologists Competition and recently won the national round of the Biology Olympiad.

The 18-year-old student from the František Hanák Piarist Gymnasium in Prievidza, who had previously achieved success in several biology and chemistry Olympiads, became so fascinated by cancer research that he regularly travelled by train to Bratislava and spent all his free time in the laboratory.

At the Epigenetics of Cancer Research Group at BMC SAS, he devoted long hours to studying the effects of xanthohumol, a compound found in hops, on pancreatic cancer cells. “Xanthohumol, which has antioxidant properties and influences cell death, is being tested as a potential treatment for diabetes and cancer,” explains Ján Liener. Together with BMC SAS researchers, he examined its effects under laboratory conditions at the cellular level, on DNA methylation (chemical modifications that determine which genes are switched on or off), and on gene expression. The experimental results were promising. “When we combined standard pancreatic cancer treatment with xanthohumol, the therapy was significantly more effective,” he says.

According to the head of the research group, Dr Smolková, working with such students is highly rewarding. “I see it as giving back what we ourselves once received. Ján reminds me of myself at his age. I also took part in competitions and had an excellent teacher. I am keeping my fingers crossed for him,” she says.

Ján Liener values the opportunity to work with inspiring people who supported him. “I learned to think more critically and to approach problems from different perspectives. I was also able to experience how research works from the ground up, for which I am very grateful. I want to thank Dr Smolková, as well as Dr Trnková and Dr Horváthová Kajabová, for dedicating their time to me,” he adds.

He plans to pursue research in biology and chemistry and has already been accepted, without entrance exams, to two medical universities, one in Brno and the other in Prague. He intends to study general medicine and dentistry simultaneously. He sees an advantage in Brno, where students can engage in research practice from their first year.

He may soon achieve further success. In June, he will compete in the prestigious international Genius Olympiad in Rochester, presenting an idea for a simple, cost-effective method to measure radiation using a yeast-based principle.

Text and photo: Ela Rybárová, BMC SAS