Many early-career scientists continue their academic careers at the same university where they studied, a practice known as academic inbreeding. A researcher at the HSE Institute of Education analysed the impact of academic inbreeding on publication activity in the natural sciences and mathematics. The study found that the impact is ambiguous and depends on various factors, including the university's geographical location, its financial resources, and the state of the regional academic employment market. A paper with the study findings has been published in Research Policy. 

Endogenous AICAR (Acadesine) demonstrates significant therapeutic potential as a phase III clinical agent for the treatment of adverse cardiovascular reactions to coronary artery bypass grafting and as a phase I/II clinical agent for chronic lymphocytic leukemia. However, its biosynthetic mechanism remains poorly defined. Previous study demonstrated that AICAR was significantly enriched in the Fusarium solani mutant veA^OE14, which overexpressed the global regulator VeA. In May 2025, the research team led by Professor Jichuan Kang from the Engineering and Research Center for Southwest Biopharmaceutical Resource of National Education Ministry of China, Guizhou University, published a research paper titled “MtfA, a C2H2 transcriptional regulator, negatively regulates PRPS2-mediated biosynthesis of the adenosine analogue Acadesine in Fusarium solani” in the journal Mycology.

This study elucidated, at the molecular level, the regulatory mechanism by which VeA overexpression enhances AICAR production in Fusarium solani. The team established a three-tier regulatory network model (VeA-MtfA-PRPS2) (Figure 1), laying an important foundation for the engineering of filamentous fungal strains for AICAR biosynthesis.

Tufts University has signed a memorandum of understanding with Indian Institute of Science to establish a framework for the development of a range of possible initiatives jointly pursued by the two institutions.