Prof. V. Šikšnys Presented Gene Editing Technology to King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium

Their Royal Highnesses King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium visit Vilnius University (VU) on 25 October. In the morning, the Royal Couple visited the VU Life Sciences Centre, where Prof. Virginijus Šikšnys presented gene editing technology.

Prof. Rimvydas Petrauskas, Rector of VU, was pleased that the Belgian Royal Couple visiting Lithuania pays a lot of attention to science.
"When the Belgian Royal Family visits the country and invites the rectors of all the eleven main Belgian universities, it is a very good impulse to look for common themes and problems," said Prof. R. Petrauskas.

After discussions with the rectors of Belgian universities on Monday, Prof. Petrauskas spent the morning on Tuesday presenting to the guests the scientific achievements of Lithuania at the National Centre for Physical and Technological Sciences and the VU Life Sciences Centre. The honorable guests visited the Division of Microtechnologies headed by Dr. Linas Mažutis, and the Department of Protein-Nucleic Acids Interactions headed by Prof. V. Šikšnys.

"I presented to King Philippe and Queen the technology used for gene editing, which is already being used in clinical trials to treat inherited genetic diseases. The Queen was particularly interested in the fact that viruses attack not only humans, but also bacteria, including those that are beneficial to the human body. I explained more about the fact that bacteria have protective barriers that help them survive, but the fight between viruses and bacteria is going on all the time - it is an everyday reality that we do not see, but it exists," said Prof. V. Šikšnys, who shared his impressions of the meeting with the Royal Couple and the tour they had at the VU Centre of Life Sciences.

The guests were also greeted at the VU Life Sciences Centre by the Minister of Economy and Innovation of the Republic of Lithuania Aušrinė Armonaitė, the Vice-Minister of Energy Daiva Garbaliauskaitė, the Director of the Life Sciences Centre Dr. Daumantas Matulis, and the Director of the Centre for Physical Sciences and Technology Prof. Gintaras Valušis.

Later, the Royal Delegation will go to the University's Central Building, where, together with the President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda and the First Lady, they will visit the Pranciškus Smuglevičius Hall of the Vilnius University Library, see the library relics of the Sapiega family dedicated to this visit, the collection of manuscripts and cartography by Joachim Lelewel, as well as the collection of documents linked to Belgium and to Joachin Lelewel.

The visit to the historic VU Library will be followed by an informal encounter with King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium, and Gitanas Nausėda and Diana Nausėdienė with VU students. Its topics will include biodiversity and climate change, women's economic empowerment, mental health issues in education, and the role of Universities in forming a sustainable society.

VU Rector R. Petrauskas said: "I am delighted that we have the opportunity to present both our newest scientific hotspot in Saulėtekis, where future solutions are born, and the old heritage of Vilnius University, of which we are justifiably proud."

"The Queen comes (her maternal grandmother is Sofija Sapiegaitė) from the Sapiega family, which was once very famous in the GDL. One of the most prominent members of that family, Kazimieras Leonas Sapiega, founded Vilnius University's Faculty of Law in the mid-17th century and donated a huge library, part of which, despite various losses, has survived and is housed in the Vilnius University Library. Today, we are presenting the originals to the royal family, so metaphorically we can say that the Queen is meeting her ancestors through these books," said the Rector of VU, Prof. R. Petrauskas.