R&D Centers
P4Health Center
The P4Health Center of Excellence for Precision Phenotyping and Biological Data Banking is an independent department and innovative R&D unit within the structure of Lukasiewicz – PORT. The center’s mission is to accelerate the development and implementation of personalized medicine in Poland and Europe, bringing together research, clinical practice and industry into a collaborative environment where innovation directly translates into improved patient care.
P4Health operates with funding raised from the Teaming for Excellence project (Horizon Europe), the International Research Agenda (Foundation for Polish Science) and funding from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education.
The center’s scientific activities focus on two research areas: translational neuroscience and psychiatry, and oncology and neurooncology.
The center’s work is headed by Professor Bastian Hengerer, a neuroscientist with more than 30 years of experience in the global pharmaceutical industry.
Director of the P4Health Center,
Prof. Bastian Hengerer
Research Groups
Immunotherapy Research Group
We focus on developing cancer therapies based on the immune system. Our work centers on methods of stimulating, modifying, and enhancing the immune response to eliminate cancer cells. Our goal is also to identify new therapeutic targets and develop innovative technologies that can increase the effectiveness and safety of immunotherapy.
Translational Neuropsychiatry Research Group
We study how environmental exposures shape vulnerability to neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders across the lifespan and generations. Our research is supported by ERA-Net, the EU Joint Programme – Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND), and the National Science Centre in Poland (NCN).
We use a multimodal approach, combining immortalized neuronal and microglial cell lines, microglia derived from iPS cells, brain organoids, transgenic and wild-type rodent models, and diverse human cohorts. Our work focuses on elucidating the roles of non-coding RNAs and metabolic dysregulation in the intergenerational transmission of trauma-induced disease risk.
Synaptogenesis Research Group
We conduct multidisciplinary research aimed at understanding the mechanisms that regulate the formation and organization of synapses in the central nervous system and in skeletal muscles. Our studies are carried out using purified proteins, primary and immortalized cell cultures, animals with induced deletion of the genes of interest (Cre-LoxP system), and transgenic models.
Biology of Astrocytes Research Group
In our research, we aim to understand the functions of astrocytes in regulating physiological processes in the brain and the consequences of their dysfunction. In recent years, our group has discovered a new mechanism linking abnormalities in the expression of astrocyte-specific genes with neurobiological disorders typical of conditions such as depression.
Neurodegeneration Mechanisms Research Group
We study the molecular basis of neurodegenerative diseases. In particular, we aim to understand how quality control of proteins fails in aging cells, making them vulnerable to neurodegenerative disorders. Our goal is to identify new strategies to counteract these deadly diseases based on the knowledge gained from our research.
Cancer Neurophysiology Research Group
Our aim is to understand the neurogenic regulation of tumorigenesis and the pain associated with it. Using state-of-the-art techniques (including in vivo optical imaging, electrophysiology, and optogenetics), we selectively monitor and modulate the activity of genetically defined neuronal populations to investigate their influence on tumor biology.
Other scientists
Dr. Michał Malewicz
I began my scientific career at the University of Warsaw, completing a master’s thesis in molecular biology focused on the genetics of RNA metabolism in yeast mitochondria. I then joined the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Germany) as a PhD student, where I studied the functioning of the immune system in genetically modified mice.
For my postdoctoral studies, I moved to Stockholm (Sweden) to work at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (affiliated with the Nobel Karolinska Institute), where I developed new biochemical methods for studying protein–protein interactions. This work led to the identification of orphan nuclear receptors NR4A as newly recognized proteins involved in the DNA damage response in mammals.
In 2012, I was appointed an independent group leader at the MRC Toxicology Unit (UK), where I established my first research group focused on DNA repair mechanisms. At the MRC, my laboratory discovered PAXX—a new factor participating in DNA repair through the NHEJ pathway—and subsequently demonstrated that PAXX stimulates DNA repair by directing DNA polymerase activity to the damage site.
In 2019, I returned to Germany to become Director of Research and Drug Discovery at the emerging biotechnology company Genome Biologics, where I led research efforts on a new heart organoid technology designed to create an in vitro system for assessing the toxicity of new drug candidates.
Since late 2020, I have led the Genome Dynamics Laboratory at Łukasiewicz – PORT (Poland), whose mission is to investigate the mechanisms of the DNA damage response and their connection to cancer development using CRISPR/Base Editing genome-editing technologies and advanced disease models such as human iPSC-derived organoids.
Dr. hab. Witold Konopka
Witold earned his PhD in biological sciences with a specialization in neurobiology at the Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology PAS in Warsaw. During his doctoral studies, he developed a procedure for generating transgenic animals (mice and rats) at the Nencki Institute.
He then spent several years as a postdoctoral researcher at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg, where he initiated studies on brain-controlled metabolism regulated by microRNAs in neurons. For several years, he has led the Animal Models Laboratory at the Nencki Institute, continuing his research on animal models in the context of cognitive functions and metabolism.
He also served as Deputy Scientific Director at the Nencki Institute. Since March 2021, Witold Konopka has led the Neuroplasticity and Metabolism Research Group at Łukasiewicz – PORT.
Dr. Jakub Chwastek
Jakub earned his PhD in neuropsychopharmacology at the Institute of Pharmacology in Kraków, where he also completed his first postdoctoral fellowship. During his doctoral studies, he investigated the neuroprotective effects of an ATM kinase inhibitor in in vitro models. He later focused on the role of synoviocytes in the development of osteoarthritis and on potential stem cell–based therapies, using both animal and cellular models.
Dr. Jolanta Żelasko
Jolanta completed her biotechnology studies at the Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences and her biology studies at the University of Wrocław. She is currently preparing to defend her PhD thesis at the University of Wrocław. Through the Erasmus program, she gained laboratory experience at the Université catholique de Louvain in Belgium, and also as an intern at the Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy PAS. In our laboratory, Jola works as the lab manager, overseeing budget control, orders, and the organization and documentation of laboratory work.