Welcome to the second issue of the EXPAND-EV Newsletter ! Discover the latest updates of the last months and stay informed about our ongoing activities.

Niki Vassilaki from HPI revisited RWTH University as part of the EXPAND-EV Staff Exchanges project, where she isolated extracellular vesicles (EVs) from the supernatants of Nicotiana tabacum cv. BY-2 suspension cultures, following optimized purification protocols to ensure purity and integrity. These EVs will be then used as target substrates in panning experiments at UNG University, where a phage display nanobody library will be screened. This will enable the identificatio

Ana Djuric from IORS recently completed a two-week secondment at Genos (Zagreb, Croatia), where she gained hands-on experience in glycobiology. The primary objective was to establish protocols for glycomic analyses of extracellular vesicle (EV) samples derived from cancer cells. This experience enabled her to gain a thorough understanding of glycan profiling methodologies and their relevance in cancer research. She is grateful to the Genos team for the collaborative environ

As part of the EXPAND EV project, Claudia D’Ercole from the University of Nova Gorica completed a three-month secondment at RWTH Aachen University . During this period, she focused on optimizing the expression of two recombinant proteins (a nanobody against CD30 and the extracellular domain of PD-1) using a cell-free expression system. Protein expression was evaluated in different cellular compartments (microsomes and cytosol), selected according to the post-translational m

Teodora Cato from the Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia (IORS) spent 1 month at the end of 2025, at Vall d‘Hebron Research Institute , in Barcelona, Spain. During her secondment, Teodora focused on the large-scale culture of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell lines and the isolation of extracellular vesicles (EVs) for downstream proteomics and glycomics analyses. She gained hands-on experience in large-scale cell culture for EV-conditioned media collection, as well a

As part of the EXPAND EV project, Vanja Stevanović completed her secondment from IORS to partner GENOS . During her stay at the Genos laboratory in Zagreb, Vanja had the opportunity to engage in cutting-edge research on extracellular vesicles (EVs). The project focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying EVs and their potential applications in disease diagnostics and therapeutics. By working with advanced technologies and expert researchers, she gained valu

Lidija Filipović from partner Innovative Centre Faculty of Chemistry Belgrade spent a month at Hellenic Pasteur Institute , under the EXPAND-EV project. During the secondment, an antibody-based protocol for extracellular vesicles (EVs) isolation from human plasma using the MojoSort CD81 Microbead Exosomes kit was successfully optimized. Key modifications included replacing the filtration step with low-speed centrifugation (1200 × g, 15 min) to minimize EV loss, and extending

As part of the EXPAND-EV project, Matteo De March from University of Nova Gorica spent three months at the Genos Lab in Zagreb, Croatia. During his stay, Matteo participated in wet-lab activities to optimize the protocol for extraction and preparation of N-glycans from tumour cell line-derived EVs. Preliminary UPLC analyses were done to asses sample suitability for the MS-based glycan fingerprint. This secondment enabled the establishment of joined collaboration connecting

Joint Seminar of the Serbian Society for Extracellular Vesicles (SrbEVs ) and the Serbian Association for Cancer Research (SDIR) . As part of the collaboration between the Serbian Society for Extracellular Vesicles (SrbEVs) and the Serbian Association for Cancer Research (SDIR), a joint seminar entitled “Extracellular Vesicles in Cancer” was held on December 16, 2025, bringing together more than 50 registered members of both societies. The aim of the meeting was to strengthen

Diego Baranda from partner VHIR completed his secondment at the   National and Kapodistrian University of Athens ,  as part of the EXPAND-EV project and shared his insights and impressions on this experience. "I had such a productive stay during October and November at the proteomics team leaded by Makis Zoidakis. Using my own saliva as a training sample, I learnt the standard methodology for processing of samples for analysis by Mass Spectrometry (MS), consisting on concen

Dr Milena Čavić from partner IORS participated as an invited lecturer at the 21st Central European Lung Cancer Conference and Best of WCLC 2025 held on Nov 27-29, 2025 in Budapest, Hungary. Main congress topics encompassed prevention, screening & early diagnosis, new waves in lung cancer management, translational research directions, lung cancer care in Central European Countries, bronchology and interventional pulmonology.  During the "Prevention, Screening and Early Diagn

As part of the EXPAND-EV project, Andrej Milivojac from the University of Belgrade - Faculty of Chemistry spent two months at the GENOS lab in Zagreb, Croatia. During the second period of his split secondment, carried out in September and October 2025, Andrej further expanded his theoretical and practical expertise in advanced glycomic methodologies. Building on the skills gained during his initial visit, he refined his ability to process biological samples with high precis

Prof. Dr. Milica Popović delivered a lecture at the 62nd Oncology Week within the “Scientific Projects in Serbia” session, where she presented the achievements and vision of the EXPAND-EV project. Her presentation highlighted how extracellular-vesicle-based technologies are advancing from fundamental research toward clinical translation in oncology, emphasizing biomarker development, therapeutic loading strategies and next-generation EV platforms. The lecture showcased EXPAN

As part of the EXPAND-EV project, our partner Exelixis Research Management & Communication (EXEL)  organized a webinar on “Intellectual Property Rights”, presented by Dr. Iryna Lishchuk, LL.M. The session provided participants with valuable insights into intellectual property (IP) and key concepts essential for researchers. Topics included understanding what constitutes IP , identifying IP-eligible outcomes , and exploring protection options  for software, algorithms, AI and

As part of the EXPAND-EV project’s mission to strengthen technical expertise across its research network, our partner Hellenic Pasteur Institute organized a specialized training session on Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis (NTA) for the characterization of Extracellular Vesicles (EVs) on 30 October 2025. The session combined theoretical instruction with hands-on laboratory practice, offering participants a comprehensive understanding of this advanced analytical technique. Durin

Thomas Glynn from partner Vall d’Hebron Institut de Recerca, Barcelona , carried out his secondment at Genos , where he focused on establishing and optimising a protocol to study the N-glycomic profile of extracellular vesicles.   During his stay, Thomas gained valuable hands-on experience in the technical procedures required to prepare and characterise purified N-glycans from cell line-derived extracellular vesicles. His time at Genos also provided him with a deeper insight

Iwona Borošak from partner Genos has recently completed a one-month secondment at NKUA , where she focused on improving methods for the proteomic analysis of extracellular vesicles (EVs). Her main goal was to develop an efficient protocol for EV lysis and protein extraction, an important step toward understanding proteome changes in these small but significant biological particles. During her stay, Iwona gained valuable hands-on experience and deepened her theoretical knowle

Jovana Terzić from partner Institute of Chemistry, Technology and Metallurgy, University of Belgrade , performed her secondment at GENOS working on the preparation of extracellular vesicle (EV) samples for glycan analysis. The work included denaturation, enzymatic release of glycans, purificati on, and labeling. Using previously isolated EV samples, Jovana followed the established workflow under the guidance of the host laboratory staff. This activity provided insight into t

Marija's secondment at Genos was focused on characterization of extracellular vesicles (EVs) through glycan profiling. The main objective was to establish a protocol for preparing N-glycan samples from plasma- and cell lines-derived EVs, and to optimize analytical workflow for EV glycome analysis using modern chromatography techniques. Through this secondment, Marija gained theoretical and practical knowledge about contemporary methodologies used in glycomics. She developed

During her research secondment under the EXPAND-EV project, Evangelia Christou from the Hellenic Pasteur Institute (HPI) joined the University of Nova Gorica (UNG) from September 9 to October 21, 2025. Her stay focused on gaining practical experience in recombinant protein expression and nanobody screening workflows. Her work involved the bacterial expression of His-tagged proteins, purification using FPLC- based affinity chromatography, and quality verification by SDS-PAGE