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International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw

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Name: International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw

Address: ul. Księcia Trojdena 4, 02-109 Warsaw, Poland

Website: www.iimcb.gov.pl

Description:

International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw (IIMCB) is a publicly funded independent research institution in Poland. IIMCB is the only Polish research institute created upon an international agreement between UNESCO and the Government of the Republic of Poland (1995) and a dedicated Parliamentary Bill (1997) that both secure the Institute’s special status and independence.

IIMCB’s mission is to support ambitious scientists of any nationality, driven by passion to pursue frontier research that aims to make a difference for society. IIMCB staff follows the principles of scientific freedom, integrity, and responsibility. IIMCB helps researchers develop their careers through training and mentoring at all levels, and encourages collaborations among them. The Institute provides efficient administrative support that enables scientists to focus on their research.

IIMCB scientists conduct high-quality research in the broad field of molecular and cell biology and biomedical studies focused on the pathogenesis of civilization diseases in order to search for new therapeutic solutions. IIMCB has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to carry out scientifically and organisationally challenging projects and to implement new research topics, models and technologies. A good example is establishment of a zebrafish research center for studies of human diseases, including the state-of-the-art zebrafish breeding and research facility. The most important successes of the Institute's scientists include publications in leading scientific journals with constantly growing number of citations and obtaining prestigious foreign and domestic grants, including those awarded by European Research Council. IIMCB is fully English-speaking and currently hosts about 50 foreign scientists at various positions.

Disciplines: Biological sciences

Fields of activity:

Bioinformatics, cancer biology, computer modeling, developmental genomics (zebrafish model), iron homeostasis, molecular and cell biology, neurobiology, neurodegeneration, protein metabolism, RNA biology, structural biology

Latest achievements:

  • Discovery of Achilles’ heel of colorectal cancer cells: a synthetic lethality between VPS4A and VPS4B paralogs. The VPS4A activity was proposed as a promising target for therapy of patients with VPS4B-deficient tumors (Szymanska et al., EMBO Mol Med, 2020).
  • Identification of origins of the increased affinity of phosphorothioate-modified therapeutic nucleic acids for proteins. The work was performed in cooperation with Ionis Pharmaceuticals – a leading company in RNA-targeted therapeutics (Hyjek-Składanowska et al., J Am Chem Soc, 2020).
  • Discovery of TrkB as a promising potential target for TSC treatment. In-depth study of a zebrafish model of tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) has revealed that TrkB inhibitors could potentially improve the effectiveness of existing therapies and the quality of life of TSC patients (Kedra et al., PNAS, 2020).

Research facilities:

  • Core Facility
    • Bioimaging and High-Throughput Screening
    • Biomolecular Analytics
    • Cell Biology
    • Genomics
    • Mass Spectrometry
    • Structural Biology
  • Zebrafish Core Facility
  • Mouse Genome Engineering Facility

Contact person:
Magdalena Krupa
PR Specialist
mkrupa@iimcb.gov.pl
(+48 22) 59-70-772