Lab members
Group leader
Anna Malik, PhD DSc
Anna Malik is a neurobiologist with an expertise in the molecular basis of brain disorders. She specializes in the mechanisms of intracellular protein sorting and vesicular trafficking, and the relevance of these processes for the functional integrity of the brain. Her current research focuses on the processes governing phenotypic polarization of astrocytes and microglia and their role in shaping brain microenvironment in the diseased brain.
Dr Malik is a pharmacist by training. She completed her PhD in molecular biology at the Nencki Institute and the International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw. Her research experience includes a postdoctoral training in Max-Delbrueck Center in Berlin.
Books, sports, and gardening are essential to her well-being.
Postdoctoral fellows
Ewelina Ziemlińska, PhD
Dr Ewelina ZiemliÅ„ska completed her doctoral studies at the Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, specialising in neurotrophic factors and spinal cord injury. Her Ph.D. research demonstrated that BDNF overexpression enhances spinal network excitability and aids locomotor recovery post-injury. She was awarded the EMBO Short-Term Fellowship and an IBRO YITP Award. During her tenure, she conducted research in the Laboratory of Molecular Membrane Biology, led by Prof. Katarzyna Kwiatkowska. There, she explored the effects of a palm oil-rich diet on protein lipidation and revealed significant changes in fatty acid metabolism and liver proteome composition. As part of the Cellular Neurobiology Research Group, she studies the role of SorCS2 in astrocyte stress responses and Alzheimer’s disease.
Aleksandra Tempes, PhD
Aleksandra Tempes received her PhD from the Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology in Warsaw, Poland. During her PhD studies, she conducted research in the Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology at the International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw, investigating the influence of the mTOR kinase pathway on vesicular and microtubule-based transport in neurons. She completed an internship at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, USA, where she acquired skills in live imaging of motor proteins in neuronal axons. Her current research focuses on the post-translational modification of sorting proteins and the identification of secreted factors in astrocytes in the post-stroke brain.
PhD students
Aleksandra Klachacz, Msc
Aleksandra (Ola) is a PhD student investigating the impact of astrocyte-derived CHI3L1 on brain microenvironment after ischemic stroke. She earned her master’s degree at the University of Warsaw where she studied the role of integrins and astrocytes in rare X chromosome-linked disorders. Before that, she completed her bachelor’s degree in biotechnology at the University of WrocÅ‚aw focusing on the opioid receptors.
In her free time she volunteers at a local animal shelter.
Tomasz Obrębski, Msc
Tomek Obrębski is a PhD student at the University of Warsaw. He gained experience in molecular biology and genetic engineering at the International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, where he worked at the Laboratory of Zebrafish Developmental Genomics and the Laboratory of RNA Biology. Tomek is interested in the role of TET2 in regulating gene expression in macrophages after ischemic stroke.
He loves mountains and his beloved dog Basia.
Technical staff
Marta Hoffmann-MÅ‚odzianowska, PhD
Marta received her PhD in biology from Jagiellonian University in Cracow, Poland. She conducted research
in toxicology and endocrinology of ovarian cancers
at Department of Physiology and Toxicology
of Reproduction. Afterwards she completed postdoctoral training in Laboratory of Molecular Oncology and Innovative Therapies at Military Institute of Medicine – National Research Institute in Warsaw where she investigated new approaches in treatment
of endometriosis. In addition, she developed her skills during internships at Institute for Cancer Research in Oslo, Norway as well as AstraZeneca in Warsaw. With experience in various positions in research projects, she currently supports the Cellular Neurobiology Research Group
as a lab manager.
Alumni
Paulina Kamińska (PhD student)
Ela Sholz (lab manager)
Palina Milewska (MSc student)
Sylwia PiÄ…tek (MSc student)