A visiting Spanish researcher's stay at the Instruct-LV facility leads to successful research in cryo-electron microscopy

Carmen Lozano, a PhD student from Professor Susana Vilchez’s group at the University of Granada (Spain), undertook a research placement at the Instruct-ERIC facility (part of the National Institute of Research and Innovation, NIRI, at the Kleisti Centre) from April 20 to July 20, 2026. The primary objective of the visit was to produce virus-like particles derived from bacteriophage-like particles previously identified by the Spanish team. 

Given the extensive experience of NIRI specialists in the field of virus-like particle research, the Spanish group had established contact with the institution— former Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre—as early as 2024. Carmen Lozano’s visit was organized under the Spanish Ministry of Science and Education’s national program for talent development, attraction, and retention. During the visit, working under the supervision of NIRI researcher Dr. Biol. Jānis Rūmnieks, Carmen successfully engineered the virus-like particles. Additionally, the resulting molecular structures were analyzed using cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). Since NIRI does not have its own cryo-EM facility, data collection took place at the Vilnius University Institute of Biotechnology, the Instruct-LT research site in Lithuania. Using the collected data, NIRI researchers subsequently successfully determined the structures of virus-like and bacteriophage-like particles. The visit by the Spanish visiting scientist is expected to result in at least two joint scientific publications on the production and structural analysis of virus-like particles.

The National Institute of Research and Innovation is implementing project No. 1.1.1.5/3/24/I/006 “Development of Latvia’s research potential by strengthening the integration of the Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre into European infrastructures and scientific networks”, within which the Latvian National Partnership Plan of the Integrated Structural Biology Infrastructure (Instruct-ERIC) is being implemented.