International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw

19/12/2025

🦠 Antibiotic resistance is a growing global challenge.

In a newly awarded OPUS project funded by the NCN Narodowe Centrum Nauki (NCN), Dr. Ewelina Małecka, Head of the Laboratory of Prokaryotic Gene Regulation, and her team aim to combat bacterial pathogens by learning from bacteriophages - viruses that infect bacteria - and the molecular strategies they use to hijack bacterial metabolism 🧬.

🔬 The project focuses on RNA-binding proteins and their role during infection, using advanced approaches such as RNA-seq, interactomics, and single-molecule biophysics to uncover fundamental mechanisms of host–phage interactions.

🎓 The Laboratory of Prokaryotic Gene Regulation is currently recruiting PhD students and postdoctoral researchers for this project and two additional research initiatives 🚀.

👉 Learn more and apply at https://lnkd.in/dQwR76uh and on the IIMCB career webpage: https://lnkd.in/dcMbk2J3 🔗

17/12/2025

📢 The IIMCB and the biotechnological investment & venture-building company BioCEEd Medical Investments (Prague, Czech Republic) have signed a Memorandum of Cooperation aimed at accelerating the transfer of scientific discoveries into applications with impact on healthcare, new medical technologies and biotechnology. 🤝

🔬 📈 The collaboration will focus on identifying promising research findings and supporting researchers through the critical stages of project development. Both institutions will work on preparing technologies for further investment, developing intellectual property (IP) protection strategies and risk management. The parties also intend to organize and participate in professional workshops, seminars and conferences.

👉 read the full story: https://tinyurl.com/IIMCB-LIFEBioCEEd-Memorandum

16/12/2025

🎉The twentieth anniversary of the MODOMICS database coincides with its most extensive expansion to date. 🌍 Prof. Janusz Bujnicki’s team has released 48, 000 RNA sequences with modified residues.

👉 MODOMICS, developed in 2005 and maintained by the research team led by Prof. Janusz Bujnicki at IIMCB, constitutes the world’s most comprehensive collection of information concerning RNA modifications. The database gathers data on the chemical structures of modified ribonucleosides, their biosynthetic pathways, the location of modified residues in RNA sequences, and RNA modifying enzymes.

➡️ Learn more about MODOMICS: https://lnkd.in/ebfXGghx

15/12/2025

🔬 IIMCB research team consisting of Prof. Gracjan Michlewski, Dr Ivan Trus, Dr Magdalena Wołczyk, and M.Sc. Jacek Szymański received a distinction from the Division II of Biological and Agricultural Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences for an exceptional scientific achievement entitled "New mechanisms and therapeutic prospects in innate immune response to viruses and RNA based therapy." 🏆✨

Research conducted by the team led by Professor Michlewski has provided key insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying immune responses to RNA viruses as well as the action of RNA-based drug precursors. These findings highlight the importance of precise control over the sequence and structure of therapeutic ribonucleic acids, which can significantly enhance the efficacy and safety of RNA-based therapies, such as antiviral and anticancer vaccines. Discoveries related to the mechanisms of RNA-protein interactions open new perspectives for the treatment of viral infections and neurodegenerative diseases.

Congratulations! 👏


Polska Akademia Nauk

📷 Photo: Aneta Karwowska / PAN

05/12/2025

🎉 New research prospects at IIMCB thanks to grants from the Narodowe Centrum Nauki!

🎓 OPUS 9 GRANTS

🔬 The research led by Prof. Jacek Jaworski, Head of the Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology at IIMCB, will focus on how inflammation and ageing affect the structure of neurons in the brain, in particular dendrites, which are essential for communication between nerve cells. The aim of the project is to understand the mechanisms of inflammation-related brain damage and to identify the basis for new therapies that could prevent cognitive decline.

🧬 Prof. Janusz Bujnicki, together with his team in the Laboratory of Bioinformatics and Protein Engineering, will develop methods for designing RNA and protein molecules that interact with each other in a manner specific to RNA sequence or structure. Interactions between proteins and RNA form a regulatory network that enables the cells to precisely control gene activity, maintain biological homeostasis, and respond to infectious agents. The Bujnicki group will apply machine learning methods together with molecular modelling to create tools for designing new protein-RNA complexes.

🦠 Dr. Ewelina Małecka, Head of the Laboratory of Prokaryotic Gene Regulation (former Laboratory of Single-Molecule Biophysics) will address one of the most pressing global health challenges: antibiotic resistance. Her team will explore how bacteriophages attack bacteria, aiming to precisely map the molecular tools they use. This knowledge may pave the way for the development of next-generation targeted therapies that mimic phage strategies.

🎓 Two PRELUDIUM grants were also awarded to PhD students from the Laboratory of Cellular Genomics:

➡️ Konstancja Gałat will investigate the causes of malnutrition in patients with liver cirrhosis. There is increasing evidence suggesting that the issue lies not in food intake, but in the impaired absorption of nutrients in the small intestine. The research project will guide the development of more effective nutritional interventions to improve their health and quality of life.

➡️ Natalia Rzepka will analyse how commonly used food colorants interact with the gut microbiota. Some gut bacteria can degrade these dyes into aromatic amines with potential toxic effects. The project will broaden knowledge about interactions between widely used azo food dyes and the gut microbiome

💡 Congratulations to all our researchers!

Check more details➡️ https://tinyurl.com/342b9c7p

01/12/2025

📽️Watch the podcast (in Polish) with Professor Marcin Nowotny, Head of the Laboratory of Protein Structure at IIMCB, on the frontiers of structural biology and the enzymes that process genetic information.

🧬In this conversation on the influential Copernicus channel, Prof. Nowotny discusses breakthroughs that have reshaped structural biology, from cryo-EM to AI-based protein modelling, and explains how his team reveals the workings of molecules atom by atom.

🦠He also talks about reverse transcriptases, which are unusual enzymes that reverse the flow of genetic information. These enzymes play a crucial role in bacterial antiviral defence systems and are central to the replication of retroviruses such as HIV.

Zespół kierowany przez prof. Marcina Nowotnego wykorzystuje metody biologii strukturalnej, aby zrozumieć mechanizmy działania molekuł biologicznych na poziom...

28/11/2025

📢 Dr Lidia Wróbel, Head of the Laboratory of Cellular Proteostasis at IIMCB, has been nominated for the title “Woman of the Year 2025” by Forbes Women in the Science category.

The editorial board selected 50 outstanding women across five fields — business, culture, sport, science, and social impact. These are leaders who take on challenges, break barriers, and show how expertise and passion can move boundaries forward.

Voting is open until 5 December 2025 (midnight). ⌛

We invite you to take part in the public vote➡️ https://lnkd.in/dX4vNGHY

20/11/2025

Dr. Lidia Wróbel, whose research explores the molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration 🧠, is the recipient of the 2025 L’Oréal–UNESCO For Women in Science Fellowship. 🏆

The researcher, formerly affiliated with the University of Cambridge and currently heading the Laboratory of Cellular Proteostasis at the IIMCB (International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw), studies the mechanisms regulating protein homeostasis, and how alterations in these mechanisms contribute to the development of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. In Poland, habilitation is an advanced postdoctoral qualification that marks a senior stage of an academic career.

Read more: ➡️ https://lnkd.in/d7f4mfUk

07/11/2025

During this year’s IIMCB Reporting Session, our researchers showcased their scientific advances in a poster session full of inspiring discussions and discoveries.

The winning poster came from the Laboratory of Iron Homeostasis — authored by Pratik Kumar Mandal, Raghunandan Mahadeva, Komal Chouhan, Patryk Slusarczyk, Gabriela Żurawska, Marta Niklewicz, Aneta Jończy, Małgorzata Lenartowicz, Wojciech Pokrzywa, Elizabeta Nemeth, and Katarzyna Mleczko-Sanecka.

🧠 Title: Iron deficiency boosts red pulp macrophage erythrophagocytosis through FPN–SYK signaling and BCAA metabolism

🎤 Presented by: Raghunandan Mahadeva

Their work reveals how our body’s “iron recyclers” — spleen macrophages — adapt to iron shortage by accelerating red blood cell recycling and reprogramming their metabolism. This discovery uncovers new pathways linking iron handling with energy metabolism, opening fresh directions for treating iron-related disorders.

👏 Congratulations to whole team!

30/10/2025

🔬 Researchers from the Laboratory of Cellular Genomics at the IIMCB investigate the functional, metabolic, and immune aspects of gut health. Using both experimental and computational methods, the team seeks to uncover the mechanisms driving chronic intestinal and liver diseases — and to understand how the microbiota influences cellular function and disease development.

🚀 In March, the Laboratory of Cellular Genomics launched a new research project:
“Identification of Biomarkers of Metabolic Dysfunction–Associated Steatotic Liver Disease”.

🎯 The aim of this study is to identify biomarkers linked to metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and to explore how specific metabolic states affect the risk or presence of this condition.

🧫 To date, the researchers have collected stool and blood samples from 400 participants and performed Fibroscan liver assessments. The team is now in the data analysis phase, focusing on metabolomic and metagenomic analyses to uncover the first insights into the complex relationships between metabolism, microbiota, and liver health.

💡 Project funding:
The project is financed under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, Component D – Efficiency, accessibility, and quality of the healthcare system, Investment D3.1.1 – Comprehensive development of research in the field of medical and health sciences, from KPO funds provided through the Medical Research Agency as part of the competition for research institutions to conduct applied biomedical research (2024/ABM/03/KPO).

29/10/2025

📢 Scientists from IIMCB are among the initiators and active participants of the Human RNome Project - a global initiative aimed at fully characterizing all human RNA molecules and their chemical modifications. Developing a detailed map of RNA sequences and their modifications may represent a milestone comparable to the sequencing of the human genome between 1990 and 2003.🧬

The team of Prof. Janusz Bujnicki, Head of the Laboratory of Bioinformatics and Protein Engineering, plays a key role through the development of MODOMICS, the world’s most comprehensive database on RNA modifications.

“The Human RNome Project marks a new chapter in RNA research. For our team and for IIMCB, it is an honor to participate in building the foundations of this international initiative,” said Prof. Janusz Bujnicki.

The Human RNome Project unites more than 100 research groups from over 20 countries, including partners from the United States, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, and Singapore.

📖 Read the story: https://tinyurl.com/Human-RNome-Project

Photo: Members of the Human RNome Project Consortium celebrating the 20th anniversary of the MODOMICS database during the HPRC workshop at Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, August 5th, 2025. Prof. Janusz Bujnicki in the bottom row, sixth from the left. Photo courtesy of the HPRC.