3P Medicine Laboratory, Medical University of Gdańsk

05/11/2025

🎓 We are proud to share that our PhD student at IRA3P, Maria Andreou, successfully defended her thesis yesterday at the Department of Pharmacy – with distinction!

🧬Under the supervision of Arkadiusz Piotrowski, Maria worked on molecular classification of microscopically healthy mammary tissue collected from the patients diagnoses with sporadic breast cancer. The genomic and transcriptomic analysis showed the existence of intermediate state, where seemingly healthy normal tissue harbor alteration driving tumor initiation and metastasis. This tissue has been shown to play an active role in cancer progression through early tumorigenic processes.

📰 Maria’s dissertation was prepared as a hybrid format and presents the results three papers published in PLOS ONE, NPJ Brest Cancer and International Journal of Cancer (total IF=15.3) as well as one manuscript that is currently under review in BMC Cancer.

👏 Huge congratulations to Maria for achieving this important milestone in your scientific career! Throughout your PhD, you proved to be a dedicated, creative, and passionate researcher and we wish you continued success and inspiration in the future!

30/10/2025

❓ No doubt we live in the era of artificial intelligence. It has become an integral part of the daily work of scientists and clinicians. Yesterday on Radio Gdańsk Jakub Mieczkowski, PhD from IRA3P and dr Marcin Ekman shared their opinions about the digital solution in the world of science and medicine.

💡Jakub stressed that AI in medicine has a long history. The first attempts to use it in diagnostics date back to the 1970s and 1980s. While modern models, such as popular language models, rely mainly on statistical analysis and predicting the next elements based on large datasets, they don’t understand medicine the way a doctor does. Their purpose is not to replace specialists but to support them in analyzing complex information.

🧬 A good example of such approach is the First Team project granted to Jakub by Fundacja na rzecz Nauki Polskiej, that has been just launched in our unit. Jakub and his team will use machine learning to analyze features of circulating DNA fragments to develop new, non-invasive diagnostic methods for patients with brain tumors.

🎙️If you want to learn more about AI and its role in medicine listen to the broadcast on Radio Gdańsk: https://tinyurl.com/cw2vzxsu

24/10/2025

📣 We are excited to announce that our new paper “Comprehensive genetic screening of 70 severe adolescent idiopathic scoliosis probands reveals novel pathogenic variants and syndromic associations” has just been published in Frontiers in Medicine (Q1, IF = 3.0)! This publication presents the key findings from Monika Horbacz’s PhD project under the supervision of Arkadiusz Piotrowski and Magdalena Koczkowska, PhD.

🤝 This study is the result of an excellent collaboration with orthopedic surgeon Rafal Pankowski, who led the project from the clinical side.

💡The study shows that about one in seven patients with severe idiopathic scoliosis carries a pathogenic genetic variant, revealing that many “idiopathic” cases have an underlying genetic cause. It highlights the genetic heterogeneity of scoliosis and recommends integrating whole exome and SNP array analyses into clinical diagnostics to enable personalized genetic counseling and management.

➡You can read full article at: https://tinyurl.com/28hhb6mt

Photo: Paweł Sudara

23/10/2025

🧠 We’re happy to announce the launch of our new project “Diagnosis of high-grade brain tumors using liquid biopsy and machine learning,” led by Jakub Mieczkowski, PhD and funded by the Fundacja na rzecz Nauki Polskiej under the First Team program! The project officially started on September 1st.

❓The project “Diagnosis of High-Grade Brain Tumors Using Liquid Biopsy and Machine Learning” aims to develop analytical tools to detect tumor-derived DNA in blood samples. By analyzing features such as fragment length, sequence composition, genomic location, and DNA methylation, the project seeks to distinguish circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) from normal cell-free DNA (cfDNA). The project will be carried out with Javad Nazarian, world-class expert in pediatric oncology, head of the Translational Research Unit in Kinderspital Zürich. Project partners also include clinicists from COPERNICUS Hospital: Ewa Iżycka-Świeszewska, and Piotr Stogowski and Genegoggle company.

💡During the first month, we focused on recruiting new team members through an open, international, and transparent process in line with Good HR practices. We’re thrilled to share the news that Urszula Ławrynowicz was selected after a rigorous evaluation and will be working in First Team project as a postdoctoral researcher for the next three years!

🧬 With her extensive expertise in molecular and cellular laboratory techniques, Ula will be responsible for the wet lab work, focusing on ctDNA analysis and Oxford Nanopore sequencing. We wish you the best of luck and success in this new chapter!

07/10/2025

💡Today two postdocs, Paulina Kowalczyk and Edyta Rychlicka-Buniowska from IRA3P had the great opportunity to participate in the workshop organized by Analityk Genetyka - 10x Genomics - from data to results – practical single-cell analysis.

🧬🧫 The session guided participants through the entire workflow of single-cell gene expression analysis — from experimental design and raw data processing to quality assessment and the first steps of data interpretation. They explored how to turn biological data into meaningful research insights and had the chance to discuss their own ideas and future directions with experienced bioinformaticians.

🔬We’re excited to bring these new insights into our ongoing projects at IRA3P!

21/09/2025

💪🏻Today two employees of IRA3P Natalia Filipowicz and Monika Horbacz ran in the Race for the Cure .

💞The Race for the Cure is the largest European sport event supporting the fight against breast cancer and its prevention.

🫶 We are happy that we can support the fight against cancer not only through our research, but also by taking part in events like this.

Drużyno Gdański Uniwersytet Medyczny do boju. Jesteśmy z Wami.
Fundacja OmeaLife Miasto Gdańsk Hevelianum Uniwersyteckie Centrum Kliniczne

05/09/2025

🧬 Help us advance cancer research!

❓Do you know a husband, partner, father, grandfather, uncle, or male friend who might want to participate in a scientific study?

📣We are still looking for healthy male controls in OPUS 25 project “Functional consequences of loss of chromosome Y (LOY) in immune cells in the context of cancer - ex vivo and in vitro studies of human cells” led by Arkadiusz Piotrowski, funded by Narodowe Centrum Nauki.

👨‍🔬 Who can join?
Men over 60, with no history of cancer or Alzheimer’s disease.

💉 What’s the procedure?
A one-time donation of ~35ml of blood — we’ll analyze immune cells and check the status of the Y chromosome.

📩 If someone you know might be interested, please get in touch!

01/09/2025

📣We’re hiring! IRA3P is looking for talented and experienced scientist to join us as Assistant Professor.

💡 The position is based in the Computational Biology Group led by Jakub Mieczkowski, with opportunities to collaborate across all research groups in our unit headed by Arkadiusz Piotrowski.

💡 We’re looking for candidates with a PhD in natural sciences, engineering, or medical/health sciences and a strong research, and the ability to work independently while further developing their scientific expertise.

💡 Expertise in image processing, quantitative analysis, and biological data interpretation is essential, while programming skills in Python, ImageJ, Napari, TensorFlow, or PyTorch will behighly desirable.

💡We offer full time and stable employment contract at one of the best medical university in Poland with full access to social benefits. You will work in the international environment at 3P Medicine Laboratory – the center of excellence established at MUG in 2018.

➡ If you want to continue your scientific journey in a creative, international research environment, apply here:️

https://www.euraxess.pl/jobs/368174
https://careers.mug.edu.pl/86250.html

27/08/2025

📣We are happy to to announce that our PhD student, Monika Horbacz, has been awarded funding in the 3rd edition of the Young Creator of Science call under the Excellence Initiative – Research University program!

💡The study „Targeted molecular analysis of breast cancer using Oxford Nanopore technology” will use Oxford Nanopore technology with adaptive sampling to analyze both tumor tissue and the surrounding healthy margin from breast cancer patients, enabling efficient detection of somatic, structural, and DNA methylation changes. Its goal is to develop a targeted, minimally invasive method for identifying genetic alterations, providing a potential new tool for assessing relapse risk and advancing personalized oncology diagnostics. The project is supervised by Arek Piotrowski.

👏 Congratulation!

➡The full list of all accepted projects is available at: https://uczelnia-badawcza.gumed.edu.pl/86256.html

26/08/2025

❓Have you ever heard about the Product Café? These are recurring meetings for people involved in creating and developing products at the intersection of business, UX, and technology.

📣On 13th of September Kuba Mieczkowki will participate in the in the panel “Development and Expansion of Polish AI in Healthcare,” sharing his knowledge and experience as both a researcher and an entrepreneur on an international scale.

➡ https://www.linkedin.com/company/product-cafe/posts/

➡Don’t miss the registration: https://www.linkedin.com/events/5productcafe-medtech-pozna7360430016825876482/

08/08/2025

📣 An interdisciplinary approach is key in science—and we’re proud to put it into practice! We are happy to share the news that Magdalena Koczkowska and the group of diagnosticians from 3PLAB has just published the paper “Differences in the neuropsychological profiles of high-functioning TSC adults with and without epilepsy” in Seizure - European Journal of Epilepsy (IF=2.8).

💡The paper is the result of the interdisciplinary cooperation of psychologists, clinicians, molecular biologists and diagnosticians in the project funded under the project Lider from the Narodowe Centrum Badań i Rozwoju led by Magda Koczkowska. The article focuses on exploring neuropsychological functioning in high-functioning adults with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC), particularly in relation to their epilepsy status. It shows that there are two distinct cognitive profiles depending on epilepsy status, with those affected by epilepsy showing broader cognitive impairments, especially in attention, executive function, and memory. This emphasizes the importance of personalized cognitive evaluations and tailored interventions for individuals with a history of epilepsy.

➡ You can read full article at: https://tinyurl.com/2wma9kj9

25/07/2025

💡 This week, our team from IRA3P — Arkadiusz Piotrowski, Magdalena Koczkowska and Monika Horbacz — together with Ewelina Szczerba and Marta Kubiak from the Oncology Center in Bydgoszcz, had the incredible opportunity to visit the European headquarters of MGI in Berlin!

🧬 The visit, made possible thanks to Tomasz Sztuka and Marta Białas from Altium Poland, included a tour of the impressive Customer Experience Center and advanced laboratories featuring the latest MGI technology — including some exciting upcoming prototypes.

🌟A special thank you to Dr Riddhi Patel for guiding us through the capabilities of the cutting-edge DNBSEQ-T1+ sequencer. We also had the chance to prepare and sequence our own samples!