Just as the summer is about to start your friend and colleague the CTGCT is publishing its latest newsletter with news and future events. Watch out! This is becoming a tradition every 6 months now. In this occasion we want to highlight the announcement of our next big event.
ANNOUNCEMENT
CTGCT Day 2026, Join Us and Participate
Yes, that’s right we are already working on organising the next CTGCT Day 2026 on the 11 of November, a one day conference where we want experts to attend and discuss ATMPs from all the different points of view, from research, development and translation, regulation or ethics their latest findings.
After the success last year, where over 130 people joined us, we have move the event to Grand Hotel Union in Ljubljana which will offer us bigger space and capacity. We have opened a call for oral and poster contributions. Check our call for contributions and submit yours!
NEWS & EVENTS
Signing of the Agreement on Co-Financing of the CTGCT
CTGCT’s co‑financing agreement was officially been signed by the Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Innovation, Dr. Igor Papič, and the Director of the National Institute of Chemistry, Prof. Dr. Gregor Anderluh securing an additional €15 million investment in matching funds provided by the Republic of Slovenia, after the original €15 million from the “Teaming for Excellence” (Horizon Europe) programme to establish the Centre and support the development of advanced gene and cell therapies in Slovenia. Read more here.
Project Calcium Switch
The head of the CTGCT, Assoc Prof. Dr. Mojca Benčina received a grant from ARIS for Project Calcium‑switch, an new research project aimed at improving the effectiveness and safety of CAR‑T cell therapies, particularly for solid tumors. The project introduces a dynamic and reversible control system that uses calcium signaling, activated through ultrasound (sonogenetics), to preserve T‑cell fitness, promote long‑lasting “memory” phenotypes, and reduce harmful side effects. By combining cancer‑cell recognition with externally controlled calcium channel activation, this approach could enable CAR‑T cells to fight tumors more persistently while lowering the risk of relapse. Read more here.
GeneH & 21st CFGBC Scientific Symposium
The GeneH Consortium met in Ljubljana on 2–3 June 2026 for its annual meeting and the joint GeneH & 21st CFGBC Symposium, bringing together researchers, clinicians, industry and policy stakeholders. Discussions focused on advancing gene therapy from functional genomics to clinical application, addressing key challenges such as regulation, manufacturing capacity and cross-border collaboration between Slovenia and Portugal. The events highlighted the importance of patient-centred approaches and the need for coordinated efforts across sectors to accelerate the translation of research into real-world impact. Read more here.
Other news and events
OPEN SCIENCE
Repurposing nuclear receptors
In this article we broke down the paper where our team participated, showing how human cells can be precisely and reversibly controlled using clinically approved hormones and drugs. By repurposing human nuclear receptors and harnessing liquid–liquid phase separation, researchers were able to switch genes on or off with extraordinary strength and precision, creating “reaction hubs” inside cells that amplify therapeutic signals. This approach opens the door to safer, smarter gene and cell therapies, where treatments can be activated only when needed, and switched off just as easily.
Repurposing nuclear receptors for ligand-responsive liquid condensate formation and gene regulation. Rihtar, E., Fink, T., Ivanovski, F., Koplan, E., & Jerala, R. (2026). Nature Communications. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-69099-4
Other published papers since our last newsletter
Small RNAs, big potential: Engineering microRNA-based synthetic gene circuits. Kundu, A., & Jerala, R. (2026). Current Opinion in Chemical Biology, 90, 102652. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpa.2026.102652
CTGCT Science Talks Season 1
Last time, we already invited you to attend our open monthly webinars CTGCT Science Talks. In this first season, we had speakers from all our partner institutions present their latest work. We want to thank all the speakers (Iva Hafner Bratkovič, Andrea Rayat, Aiko Ballardini, Claudia Beltran Mestres, Shady Sayed, Ajasja Ljubetič, Thomas Fox and Peter Brazda) for their participation and collaboration in writing short summary articles about their talk. You can check them all in this link. We are working on preparing our next season, so stay tunned. In the meantime, if you would like to watch the full presentation from Dr. Ajasja Ljubetič on Overview of de novo protein design (and design of novel binders) you can watch the recording here.
JOB OPENINGS
As the project progress, so will do the team that is part of the CTGCT. We are currently 21 people in the team and during 2026 we plan to hire people with a background in chemistry and/or biology and experience with cell therapies and virus preparation. If you or any of your friends and colleagues would be interested in helping the CTGCT in its mission to translate research into therapies for cancers and rare diseases, keep and eye on our job openings or feel free to send your curriculum to ctgct@ki.si.
Here is a list of the currently open positions:
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2 x Assistant-S. Deadline 01.07.2026
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QC expert (Assistant with a Doctorate). Deadline 29.06.2026