The nominees include scientists representing the humanities, social sciences, life sciences, as well as natural and technical sciences. Winners of five scholarships and ten final awards will be announced on Sunday, 22 October, at the awards ceremony.
Full list of the finalists (in Polish)
Commitment and passion for science – searching for the causes of intestinal diseases
The main direction of research conducted by Dr Damian Jacenik is to get to know the mechanisms that determine the development of non-specific inflammatory bowel diseases, such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, as well as gastrointestinal cancers. The determination of the relationship between estrogen signalling and inflammatory and functional intestinal diseases is one of his most important achievements.
Being among the finalists of the Science Awards made me very happy, it is a great honour for me. My research focuses on gastrointestinal pathology in the area related to intestinal inflammation, gastrointestinal motility disorders and gastrointestinal cancer. The aim of my research is to identify and pre-clinically evaluate the effectiveness of immunotherapy and determine the potential of using targeted therapies in the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases
– says the researcher.
More effective therapeutic solutions – knowledge development
The scientific goals pursued by the researcher lead to the design of new, more effective therapeutic approaches, and this research has certainly contributed to the further development of our knowledge in the area of gastrology, endocrinology, immunology and medical biology.
Dr Damian Jacenik has been the project manager in two research projects financed by the National Science Centre as part of the PRELUDIUM and SONATINA calls. He received a doctoral scholarship obtained in the ETIUDA competition of the National Science Centre and the prestigious START scholarship for outstanding young scientists awarded by the Foundation for Polish Science. He participated in four foreign traineeships at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque (USA), Rey Juan Carlos University in Alcorcón (Spain), University of Utah in Salt Lake City (USA) and University of Bari Aldo Moro in Bari (Italy). Additionally, he is a beneficiary of awards from the Dean of the Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection of the University of Lodz, the Rector of the University of Lodz and the "J-elita" Society.
The POLITYKA Weekly Foundation has been running a scholarship programme addressed to young scientists entitled "Stay with Us!" since 2001. Since 2011 it has been known under the name POLITYKA Science Awards.
Source: Dr Damian Jacenik, Department of Cytobiochemistry
Edit: Iwona Ptaszek-Zielińska, photo: Natalia Naworska, Communications and PR Centre, University of Lodz
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