prof. Mikael Kubista, PhD

Biography

I have been interested in life sciences for as long as I can remember. I studied chemistry at University of Göteborg, Sweden, and obtained B.Sc. in chemistry in 1984. I then worked at Astra Hässle (today part of AstraZeneca), studying the K+/H+-ATPase inhibitor omeprazole, which became the then most sold pharmaceutical drug under the trade names of Losec (Prilosec in US) and Nexium, and is used to treat ulcer. I returned to academia joining Chalmers University of Technology in Göteborg and received in 1986 Technology Licentiate in Chemistry and in 1988 PhD in physical chemistry on studies of nucleic acid interactions with polarized light spectroscopy. I did my first postdoc at La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia, on transcriptional foot-printing, and my second postdoc at Yale University, New Haven, USA where I studied chromatin and epigenetic modulation of nucleosomes. Returning to Gothenburg in 1991 I started my own research group studying DNA-ligand interactions and elucidated some critical details about the RecA catalyzed strand exchange process, which led to the establishment of the current model of DNA strand exchange in homologous recombination. We also discovered a novel mechanism of transcriptional activation of oncogenes, which led to the development of a new class of anticancer drugs that target specific quadruplex DNA structures. We developed methods for multidimensional data analysis based on which MultiD Analyses AB was founded, and we invented the light-up probes for nucleic acid detection in homogeneous solution, which led to the foundation of LightUp Technologies AB as Europe´s first company focusing on quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) based diagnostics. In 2001 I set up the TATAA Biocenter as center of excellence in qPCR and gene expression analysis with locations in Gothenburg, Sweden, Prague, Czech Republic, and Saarbrücken, Germany. TATAA Biocenter is the largest provider of qPCR training globally, and Europe´s largest provider of qPCR services. It was the first laboratory in Europe to obtain flexible ISO 17025 certification and was presented the Frost & Sullivan Award for Customer Value Leadership as Best-in-Class Services for Analyzing Genetic Material in 2013. I also coauthored the MIQE guidelines for RT-qPCR analysis, which receives an average of 25 citations per week, and I am member of the CEN/ISO group drafting guidelines for the pre-analytical process in molecular diagnostics.

Selected Publications

I am an author of >170 original research papers and 19 reviews in international peer-review journals (WOS; September, 2019) that have been cited more than 15000 times. During my career, I registered 21 patents and founded five start-up companies focused on biotechnology.

1. Multicenter Evaluation of Circulating Plasma MicroRNA Extraction Technologies for the Development of Clinically Feasible Reverse Transcription Quantitative PCR and Next-Generation Sequencing Analytical Work Flows. Kloten V, Neumann MHD, Di Pasquale F, Sprenger-Haussels M, Shaffer JM, Schlumpberger M, Herdean A, Betsou F, Ammerlaan W, Af Hällström T, Serkkola E, Forsman T, Lianidou E, Sjöback R, Kubista M, Bender S, Lampignano R, Krahn T, Schlange T; CANCER-ID consortium. Clin Chem. 2019 Sep;65(9):1132-1140. doi: 10.1373/clinchem.2019.303271. Epub 2019 Jun 24.
2. Reactivation of Dihydroorotate Dehydrogenase-Driven Pyrimidine Biosynthesis Restores Tumor Growth of Respiration-Deficient Cancer Cells. Bajzikova M, Kovarova J, Coelho AR, Boukalova S, Oh S, Rohlenova K, Svec D, Hubackova S, Endaya B, Judasova K, Bezawork-Geleta A, Kluckova K, Chatre L, Zobalova R, Novakova A, Vanova K, Ezrova Z, Maghzal GJ, Magalhaes Novais S, Olsinova M, Krobova L, An YJ, Davidova E, Nahacka Z, Sobol M, Cunha-Oliveira T, Sandoval-Acuña C, Strnad H, Zhang T, Huynh T, Serafim TL, Hozak P, Sardao VA, Koopman WJH, Ricchetti M, Oliveira PJ, Kolar F, Kubista M, Truksa J, Dvorakova-Hortova K, Pacak K, Gurlich R, Stocker R, Zhou Y, Berridge MV, Park S, Dong L, Rohlena J, Neuzil J. Cell Metab. 2019 Feb 5;29(2):399-416.e10. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2018.10.014. Epub 2018 Nov 15.
3. Alternative assembly of respiratory complex II connects energy stress to metabolic checkpoints. Bezawork-Geleta A, Wen H, Dong L, Yan B, Vider J, Boukalova S, Krobova L, Vanova K, Zobalova R, Sobol M, Hozak P, Novais SM, Caisova V, Abaffy P, Naraine R, Pang Y, Zaw T, Zhang P, Sindelka R, Kubista M, Zuryn S, Molloy MP, Berridge MV, Pacak K, Rohlena J, Park S, Neuzil J. Nat Commun. 2018 Jun 7;9(1):2221. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-04603-z.
4. Technical aspects and recommendations for single-cell qPCR. Ståhlberg A, Kubista M. Mol Aspects Med. 2018 Feb;59:28-35. doi: 10.1016/j.mam.2017.07.004.
5. Asymmetric distribution of biomolecules of maternal origin in the Xenopus laevis egg and their impact on the developmental plan. Sindelka R, Abaffy P, Qu Y, Tomankova S, Sidova M, Naraine R, Kolar M, Peuchen E, Sun L, Dovichi N, Kubista M. Sci Rep. 2018 May 29;8(1):8315. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-26592-1.
6. Two-tailed RT-qPCR: a novel method for highly accurate miRNA quantification. Androvic P, Valihrach L, Elling J, Sjoback R, Kubista M. Nucleic Acids Res. 2017 Sep 6;45(15):e144. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkx588.
7. Horizontal transfer of whole mitochondria restores tumorigenic potential in mitochondrial DNA-deficient cancer cells. Dong LF, Kovarova J, Bajzikova M, Bezawork-Geleta A, Svec D, Endaya B, Sachaphibulkij K, Coelho AR, Sebkova N, Ruzickova A, Tan AS, Kluckova K, Judasova K, Zamecnikova K, Rychtarcikova Z, Gopalan V, Andera L, Sobol M, Yan B, Pattnaik B, Bhatraju N, Truksa J, Stopka P, Hozak P, Lam AK, Sedlacek R, Oliveira PJ, Kubista M, Agrawal A, Dvorakova-Hortova K, Rohlena J, Berridge MV, Neuzil J. Elife. 2017 Feb 15;6. pii: e22187. doi: 10.7554/eLife.22187.
8. The workflow of single-cell expression profiling using quantitative real-time PCR. Ståhlberg A, Kubista M. Expert Rev Mol Diagn. 2014 Apr;14(3):323-31. doi: 10.1586/14737159.2014.901154.
9. The need for transparency and good practices in the qPCR literature. Bustin SA, Benes V, Garson J, Hellemans J, Huggett J, Kubista M, Mueller R, Nolan T, Pfaffl MW, Shipley G, Wittwer CT, Schjerling P, Day PJ, Abreu M, Aguado B, Beaulieu JF, Beckers A, Bogaert S, Browne JA, Carrasco-Ramiro F, Ceelen L, Ciborowski K, Cornillie P, Coulon S, Cuypers A, De Brouwer S, De Ceuninck L, De Craene J, De Naeyer H, De Spiegelaere W, Deckers K, Dheedene A, Durinck K, Ferreira-Teixeira M, Fieuw A, Gallup JM, Gonzalo-Flores S, Goossens K, Heindryckx F, Herring E, Hoenicka H, Icardi L, Jaggi R, Javad F, Karampelias M, Kibenge F, Kibenge M, Kumps C, Lambertz I, Lammens T, Markey A, Messiaen P, Mets E, Morais S, Mudarra-Rubio A, Nakiwala J, Nelis H, Olsvik PA, Pérez-Novo C, Plusquin M, Remans T, Rihani A, Rodrigues-Santos P, Rondou P, Sanders R, Schmidt-Bleek K, Skovgaard K, Smeets K, Tabera L, Toegel S, Van Acker T, Van den Broeck W, Van der Meulen J, Van Gele M, Van Peer G, Van Poucke M, Van Roy N, Vergult S, Wauman J, Tshuikina-Wiklander M, Willems E, Zaccara S, Zeka F, Vandesompele J. Nat Methods. 2013 Nov;10(11):1063-7. doi: 10.1038/nmeth.2697.
10. The digital MIQE guidelines: Minimum Information for Publication of Quantitative Digital PCR Experiments. Huggett JF, Foy CA, Benes V, Emslie K, Garson JA, Haynes R, Hellemans J, Kubista M, Mueller RD, Nolan T, Pfaffl MW, Shipley GL, Vandesompele J, Wittwer CT, Bustin SA. Clin Chem. 2013 Jun;59(6):892-902. doi: 10.1373/clinchem.2013.206375.
11. RT-qPCR work-flow for single-cell data analysis. Ståhlberg A, Rusnakova V, Forootan A, Anderova M, Kubista M. Methods. 2013 Jan;59(1):80-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ymeth.2012.09.007. Epub 2012 Sep 25.
12. Heterogeneity of astrocytes: from development to injury - single cell gene expression. Rusnakova V, Honsa P, Dzamba D, Ståhlberg A, Kubista M, Anderova M. PLoS One. 2013 Aug 5;8(8):e69734. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0069734. Print 2013.