Dr. Carina Dey from the Institute for Molecular Biotechnology at RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany, conducted her secondment at the Hellenic Pasteur Institute (HPI) in Athens, Greece. The secondment was divided into two periods, in May and October 2026, and hosted by Dr. Niki Vassilaki. During her stay, Carina was involved in the characterization of plant-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) from different plant sources. Her work focused on determining EV concentrations

Marija Tursunović from the University of Belgrade – Faculty of Chemistry completed a one- month secondment at Genos from September 15 to October 14, 2026. During her stay, she focused on optimizing the enzymatic release of N-glycans from extracellular vesicles (EVs) for further glycomic analyses. Additionally, Marija performed EV isolations from human plasma using a nanobody-based immunoaffinity system with silica-coated magnetic particles. Marija also provided hands-on train

Jovana Terzić from partner Institute of Chemistry, Technology and Metallurgy, University of Belgrade was seconded to GENOS in Zagreb, Croatia as part of the EXPAND-EV project. Jovana participated in the preparation of extracellular vesicle (EV) samples for N-glycan analysis during her visit. Her work was dedicated to different sample preparation conditions and the significance of these conditions for further glycan analysis. Activities also included reviewing the analytical r

As part of the EXPAND-EV project, Evangelos Korakidis from partner Hellenic Pasteur Institute completed a two-week training period at GENOS in Zagreb, Croatia, focusing on the glycomic analysis of breast cancer cell-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs). During the stay, Evangelos gained hands-on experience in EV lysis, glycan labelling and liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS) analysis, with the aim of quantifying glycan abundance and characterising EV glycome profi

As part of the EXPAND-EV project, Nina Šimunić Briški from partner GENOS completed a research secondment at the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) in Barcelona, Spain. During her stay, Nina had the opportunity to expand her knowledge of extracellular vesicle (EV) research, gaining experience with new techniques and methodologies and exchanging knowledge with the VHIR research team. The secondment took place in a welcoming and collaborative environment, with valuable supp

Aleksandar Radovanović from the University of Belgrade Faculty of Chemistry performed his two-month secondment at partner GENOS, as part of the EXPAND-EV project. The work centered on establishing a protocol for preparing N-glycan samples from plasma-derived EVs and optimizing the analytical workflow for EV glycome analysis using modern chromatography techniques. In addition to the main activities, Aleksandar took part in further glycomic analyses of immunoglobulins, includin

Ana Djuric from IORS completed a research stay at the Vall d'Hebron Institut de Recerca (VHIR) in Barcelona, Spain. During her time at VHIR, Ana collaborated with an outstanding team to explore how EVs can serve as transformative biomarkers and targeted therapeutic carriers. This experience gave her an incredible opportunity to advance pioneering methodologies for EV isolation and purification socialand to strengthen our cross-border scientific network.

Building collaboration and expertise in Barcelona During his secondment at Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) in Barcelona, Filip Kliček gained valuable hands-on experience working with cancer cell models and extracellular vesicles (EVs). The main aim was to prepare high-quality cell and EV samples for further N-glycomics analysis at Genos. Together with the CB-DDT group, Filip took part in cell culture work, EV preparation, sample characterisation and quantification. Se

From August 17 to September 2, Teodora Ćato from the Institute of Oncology and Radiology of Serbia (IORS) visited the Genos lab in Zagreb as part of the EXPAND-EV project. During her stay, Teodora completed practical training in mass spectrometry-based methods and conducted experiments aimed at developing an MS protocol for the glycomic analysis of extracellular vesicles (EVs) isolated from plasma and cell-culture supernatants.

From 15 July to 15 August 2026, Lidija Filipović completed a research secondment at the Hellenic Pasteur Institute in Athens within the EXPAND-EV project, under the supervision of Dr Niki Vassilaki. The work focused on evaluating magnetic particles as a solid phase for protein immobilization and affinity-based isolation of extracellular vesicles (EVs). Their protein-binding capacity and performance in EV isolation were assessed, while the isolated vesicles were characterized

As part of the EXPAND-EV project, Joaquin Seras Franzoso from the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) completed a research secondment at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), focused on the proteomic analysis of extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) models, including cancer stem cell and bulk tumor populations. This training provided hands-on expertise across the complete proteomics workflow, from data curation

Building on the work carried out during the first two months of her secondment, Iwona Borošak from partner GENOS dedicated the third month to proteomic data analysis of extracellular vesicle (EV) samples at NKUA. This phase focused on processing and interpreting proteomic data to evaluate the performance of the optimized sample preparation workflow and further improve the overall analysis workflow. Throughout this phase, Iwona strengthened her expertise in proteomic data anal

During a one-month secondment at GENOS, dr Jelena Milovanović received hands-on training in high-throughput glycomics, including glycan extraction and sample preparation for UHPLC, capillary gel electrophoresis (CGE), and mass spectrometry analyses. The knowledge and skills acquired will support the glycomic profiling of extracellular vesicles from liquid biopsy samples of patients with lung, breast, and liver cancer in the upcoming project work packages. In addition, the sec

Dr. Ana Damjanović and Dr. Snezana Bjelogrlić performed their secondments at GENOS in Zagreb, Croatia, in May/June 2026, hosted by Dr. Maja Pučić Baković. During their stay, Ana and Snezana were trained on laboratory methods for glycomic studies, with particular focus on glycan extraction from biological samples and their preparation for mass spectrometry analysis. Special attention was given to development of glycome analysis SOPs for extracellular vesicles (EV) derived from

Dr. Milena Čavić performed the first part of her split-secondment at GENOS, Zagreb, Croatia in the period May 30-June 6, 2026. During her stay, Dr. Čavić was hosted by Helena Deris, MSc, and Dr. Maja Pucic Bakovic. Dr Čavić was involved in study design, analytics, and data interpretation of high-throughput glycomics, with an emphasis on application on the EV glycome content derived from pleural effusion of patients with lung cancer. Exchange of know-how was performed within W

Marija Tursunović from the University of Belgrade – Faculty of Chemistry (UBFC) spent two months at the University of Nova Gorica (UNG). Her secondment was focused on the selection of nanobodies targeting cancer-associated extracellular vesicles (EVs) using phage display technology. During her stay, she gained hands-on experience in phage display panning using liver cancer cell models, followed by screening and characterization of candidate binders through ELISA and flow cyto

Niki Vassilaki from HPI revisited RWTH University as part of the EXPAND-EV Staff Exchanges project, where she isolated EVs from carrot and marigold (Calendula officinalis) root suspension cultures, using optimized EV purification and pellet resuspension protocols. The isolated EVs will be analyzed using Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis at HPI and will be used as target substrates in panning experiments at UNG University.

As part of the EXPAND-EV project, Evangelia Christou from the Hellenic Pasteur Institute completed a research secondment at the University of Nova Gorica from April 17 to May 22, 2026. Her stay focused on cell-based panning and screening of phage-displayed nanobody libraries against liver cancer-associated targets, alongside recombinant H1 protein production and purification. During this period, she performed cell-based panning experiments using IHH cells as negative controls

As part of the EXPAND-EV project, Andrej Milivojac from the University of Belgrade-Faculty of Chemistry (UBFC) spent a month at the GENOS lab in Zagreb, Croatia. During the first period of his split secondment at the Genos laboratory in Zagreb, Andrej worked on the glycomic characterization of nano-antibodies specific for cancer-related human extracellular vesicles (EVs). The training will continue during the Fall of 2026, the second period of Andrej’s split secondment.

Teodora Cato from the Institute of Oncology and Radiology of Serbia (IORS) spent the month of April 2026 at Vall d‘Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), in Bercelona, Spain. During her secondment, Teodora focused on the functional characterization of various HCC1806 breast cancer cell line variants, including those transduced with AlfaTag-mClover lentiviral constructs, utilizing colony formation (CFA), spheroid formation (SFA), and invasion assays monitored via confocal microscop