Researchers from the International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw (IIMCB), implementing the HERO project co-funded by the Virtual Research Institute, have described a new mechanism that improves the efficiency of mRNA-based therapeutics. The research findings will facilitate the development of novel therapeutics against cancers and infectious diseases. The breakthrough study by the Polish researchers has just been published in Nature, considered the most prestigious scientific journal in the world.

Professor Dziembowski’s team is the first group of scientists to receive nearly PLN 70 million in funding under the Virtual Research Institute Programme to carry out a five-year research agenda aimed at developing a highly effective therapeutic mRNA technology and its application in cancer immunotherapy.

The Virtual Research Institute Programme is a distribution tool of the Polish Science Fund. Its purpose is to finance the work of selected, internationally competitive research teams conducting scientific activities with high potential for socio-economic applications.

The main goal of the Programme is the effective commercialization of research results of research teams. The entity that manages the WIB Programme and coordinates the processes of commercialization of intellectual property is the Łukasiewicz Research Network – PORT Polish Center for Technology Development, based in Wrocław.

We encourage you to visit the IIMCB website, where you can learn more about the publication. The scientific article “Re-adenylation by TENT5A enhances efficacy of SARS–CoV–2 mRNA vaccines” is available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08842-1.

Photo by: International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw