Małopolskie Centrum Biotechnologii

10/08/2026

MCB UJ Contributes to Two Newly National Infrastructure Roadmap Research Centers! 🚀

We are thrilled to share that two groundbreaking projects, shaped with the pivotal participation of MCB, have officially joined the Polish Roadmap for Research Infrastructures:

🔶 TwinMed (Centre for Digital Twin Technologies in Biomedicine and Personalized Medicine): Led by the Uniwersytet Jagielloński in collaboration with ACK CYFRONET AGH and Sano Science. Coordinated on behalf of MCB by dr hab. Paweł P. Łabaj, this project leverages HPC and AI to build a multi-scale biological modeling ecosystem.

🔶 POL-INSTRUCT (Interdisciplinary Platform for Structure-Guided Development of Biologically Active Molecules): Led by the of Bioorganic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences (ICHB PAN) with MCB UJ as a key consortium partner, supporting the complete drug discovery pipeline. Coordinated by dr. hab. Milosz Ruszkowski (ICHB PAN) and dr. hab. Przemyslaw Grudnik (MCB UJ).

These milestones underscore our ongoing commitment to advancing modern biomedicine, data-driven healthcare, and structural biology in Poland! 🔬💻

04/08/2026

We are thrilled to announce that Dr. Ali Maruf, a postdoctoral researcher in the KIND Lab (led by Dr. Anna Czarna - prof UJ) has been awarded a highly competitive SONATINA 10 grant funded by Narodowe Centrum Nauki! 🏆

With PLN 1.29 million in funding over 36 months, Dr. Maruf will lead a groundbreaking project entitled: “Engineered stem cell-derived exosomes to target β cells for diabetes therapy.”

This innovative research focuses on engineering iPSC-derived exosomes with GLP-1 to directly target pancreatic β-cells, naturally boosting insulin production and cell survival. To maximize these regenerative properties, the project will also explore pairing these engineered exosomes with bioactive molecules like kinase inhibitors. 🔬

Furthermore, to evaluate these cutting-edge therapies without relying on conventional animal models, Dr. Maruf will develop advanced, Matrigel-free human pancreatic organoids using synthetic microgels. 🧫✨

Dr. Maruf is one of only two SONATINA awardees in the Life Sciences (NZ) panel at Uniwersytet Jagielloński this round. The overall success rate in NZ panel for this call was 20%.

Join us in congratulating Dr. Maruf on this incredible achievement! We can't wait to see how this work shapes the future of diabetes treatment. 👏🧬

03/08/2026

An international research team led by Prof. Curtis A. Davey from MCB, alongside collaborators from EPFL, has uncovered how ruthenium- and osmium-based compounds selectively recognize chromatin. Published in Nucleic Acids Research, the study demonstrates that rather than targeting DNA directly like conventional chemotherapies, these organometallic compounds can be chemically tuned to target the histone proteins that package the human genome.

The researchers discovered that the nucleosome superhelical crevice acts as a structural selectivity filter, permitting only compounds with specific shape and dynamic properties to access internal binding sites. By altering either the central metal atom or its surrounding ligands, scientists can expand or restrict where these compounds attach, establishing precise design principles for a new class of chromatin-targeting therapeutics.

Congratulation to the Authors!

Uniwersytet Jagielloński

📖 Read the full study in Nucleic Acids Research: https://academic.oup.com/nar/article/54/14/gkag721/8741784
📖Read the full press-release: https://mcb.uj.edu.pl/aktualnosci/-/journal_content/56_INSTANCE_wWpAonkKsToI/150912362/161340401

31/07/2026

We are thrilled to announce that dr Magdalena Schacherl has been awarded a prestigious TOP200 NAWA grant, securing 2,377,600 PLN in funding during the pilot call of the programme!

Dr Schacherl is one of only ten outstanding researchers worldwide selected for this inaugural funding wave, joining top-tier talent recruited from institutions ranked among the global top 200.

The TOP200 NAWA programme is an initiative of the Polish NAWA - Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange, operating as part of the European Commission’s Choose Europe for Science initiative to promote researcher mobility. Dr Schacherl will establish her independent research group at the MCB.

The Schacherl Lab will investigate the structural basis of cellular processes by studying the organization and dynamics of macromolecular complexes in their native environment. By combining structural biology, cell biology, and advanced imaging, the team works to understand how molecular machines are assembled, regulated, and coordinated in healthy cells, and how these vital processes become altered in disease.

Congratulations dr Schacherl! We cannot wait to see the incredible discoveries and breakthroughs your team will achieve here in Kraków!

NAWA Narodowa Agencja Wymiany Akademickiej
Uniwersytet Jagielloński

30/07/2026

Researchers have unveiled the first-ever Urban RNA Virus Atlas in Nature Communications, analyzing nearly 3,000 samples from public spaces across 102 cities worldwide. This landmark international collaboration—featuring standout contributions from our researchers —identified nearly 55,000 RNA viruses, with an astounding 77% entirely unknown to science.

A pivotal role in this global achievement belongs to dr. hab. Paweł P. Łabaj - Prof. JU, who initiated Kraków's participation in the international City Sampling Day (gCSD) coordinated by the MetaSUB Consortium back in 2020. His vision brought together local municipal institutions and global researchers, integrating Kraków's urban samples into the massive dataset that made this groundbreaking atlas possible.

The findings dramatically reshape our understanding of urban microbiomes by introducing two candidate new viral phyla and a new class. While over half of the host-identified viruses are beneficial bacteriophages, the team also tracked 166 RNA viruses tied to high-risk antibiotic-resistant ESKAPE pathogens. Thanks to foundational local efforts like those led by Prof. Łabaj, cities are now helping build the framework for next-generation early warning systems against emerging infectious diseases.

Uniwersytet Jagielloński

Check the paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-73605-z
Check the press release: https://mcb.uj.edu.pl/aktualnosci/-/journal_content/56_INSTANCE_wWpAonkKsToI/150912362/161334744

RNA viruses are well-known pathogens that can cause zoonotic spillover and threaten human health. Here, the authors have compiled samples collected from urban and surrounding environments across 102 cities in 31 countries and constructed the Urban & Peri-urban RNA Virus Atlas (UPVAtlas).

29/07/2026

We are happy to announce that the European Commission has shared the results of the highly competitive Horizon Europe Twinning call, and our application is among the 179 successful proposals selected from more than 1,900 submissions. Backed by a grant of nearly €1.5 million, MCB is preparing to launch a 36-month initiative called IMPACT-Cell (Integrated Mapping of Proteomic And struCtural Transitions in Cells) in the fourth quarter of 2026.

Because the core purpose of the Twinning instrument is to help research centers in Widening countries learn from established European leaders, this project represents an invaluable opportunity for us to absorb top-tier expertise. Coordinated scientifically by dr hab. Przemyslaw Grudnik, dr Urszula Jankowska, and dr Mateusz Sikora, our team will benefit directly from the experience of our international partners through hands-on training, staff exchanges, and joint measurement campaigns. This structured knowledge transfer will allow our researchers to advance their practical skills in highly specialized areas, including advanced proteomics, cellular cryo-electron tomography, single-cell methodologies, and high-resolution computational modeling.

To make this exchange possible, we will be working closely with and learning from four leading European research institutions: the EMBL, the Fundación para la Formación e Investigación Sanitarias de la Región de Murcia (Spain), Syddansk Universitet - University of Southern Denmark (Denmark), and Lund University (Sweden).

The project goes beyond the laboratory, offering an important opportunity to upgrade the administrative backbone of our Centre. Under the leadership of Project Manager Aleksandra Tatara, the grant will help us establish a newly professionalized Grant Office at MCB. By adopting the administrative best practices of our more experienced European partners, we aim to build a robust support system for our scientists, significantly improving our ability to compete for future European funding and securing our long-term integration into the European Research Area.

Congratulations!

Uniwersytet Jagielloński

28/07/2026

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Marta Stolarek-Sipior - Postdoctoral Researcher in Polyamine Network Research Group lead by dr hab. Przemyslaw Grudnik - has been awarded funding in the 10th edition of the NCN National Science Centre's MINIATURA call.

Notably, Dr. Stolarek-Sipior's project placed first on the overall ranking list. This is a significant achievement and a strong validation of her proposed research.

Her preliminary study, titled "Light-Controlled Degradation of Deoxyhypusine Synthase as a Tool for Investigating Hypusination in Cells," received PLN 49,500 in funding. In this project, Marta will combine the expertise she gained during her PhD at the Faculty of Chemistry of Jagiellonian University with research on hypusination, which is one of the main research topics in the Grudnik Lab.

The MINIATURA grant is designed to support researchers in conducting preliminary studies to lay the groundwork for future projects. Congratulations to Dr. Stolarek-Sipior on this highly successful application and we are keeping our fingers crossed for the project!

Narodowe Centrum Nauki
Uniwersytet Jagielloński

27/07/2026

Check the recent interview with prof. Krzysztof Pyrć - Virogeneticsrogenetics Group Leader at MCB and President of Fundacja na rzecz Nauki Polskiej.

Nie ma konieczności, żeby biznes i nauka mówiły tym samym językiem; ważniejsze jest, żeby rozumiały swoje ograniczenia i wzajemne oczekiwania. Problem polega na

21/07/2026

Last week, dr hab. Paweł P. Łabaj - prof. UJ and dr Serghei Mangul - prof. UJ proudly represented MCB and Jagiellonian University at the Intelligent Systems for Molecular Biology (ISMB) conference in Washington, organized by the International Society for Computational Biology.

Our team took center stage throughout the event. Dr hab. Paweł Łabaj delivered insightful talks at both the iRNA and Microbiome COSI/Tracks. He also ran the CAMDA (Critical Assessment of Massive Data Analysis) COSI/Track, continuing his dedicated leadership as an organizer since 2008.

Dr Serghei Mangul presented at the Education and CAMDA COSI/Tracks. He also had the honor of chairing the Q&A session for the plenary lecture by Marinka Zitnik, winner of the prestigious ISCB Overton Prize 2026.

We are incredibly proud to see our researchers actively shaping the global bioinformatics community and driving vital discussions in computational biology. Congratulations to them both on a fantastic conference! 👏

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17/07/2026

🎉 The first round of recruitment for the Biomedical Sciences PhD programme is officially complete! 🎓

We are thrilled to welcome 8 new doctoral candidates to the Szkoła Doktorska Nauk Ścisłych i Przyrodniczych UJ.

Starting this new academic year, these talented researchers will begin their exciting projects:
🔬 6 candidates will join the Małopolskie Centrum Biotechnologii
🔬 2 candidates will pursue their research at the Jagiellonian Centre for Experimental Therapeutics (JCET)
A massive thank you to everyone who applied—we received an amazing 44 applications in total! 🌟
Missed the first round? You have another chance! Our next recruitment round opens at the beginning of September. Keep an eye on the Doctoral School's website—the list of new research projects and the detailed schedule will be published in mid-August. 📅✨

More info: https://science.phd.uj.edu.pl/en_GB/join/biomedical



Uniwersytet Jagielloński