We are proud to announce that the implementation doctorate project of Martyna Skuła from the Biology of Astrocytes Research Group at Łukasiewicz – PORT, led by Dr. Michał Ślęzak, has been ranked first on the national ranking list in the “Implementation Doctorate 2024” program of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education.
The aim of Martyna’s research is to identify the neurobiological mechanisms underlying behavior changes induced by chronic stress—a major risk factor for the development of mental disorders. The project involves the development of artificial intelligence–based tools for integrated data analysis to obtain precise information on brain function impairments. A key innovation is the integration of wireless EEG signal recording with an existing automated behavior analysis system that uses video image analysis based on deep machine learning. This unified technology will enable pioneering correlations between physiological and behavioral parameters in a minimally invasive manner, reducing human impact on experimental outcomes. The resulting system will allow for precise animal phenotyping in preclinical studies and will significantly improve the accuracy of evaluating the effectiveness of antidepressant drugs.
The introduction of advanced artificial intelligence techniques into preclinical research has the potential to revolutionize the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders, including depression, which affects millions of people worldwide. The new methods developed within this interdisciplinary project will be applied in European research initiatives such as HE Twinning SAME-NeuroID and HE Teaming P4HEALTH, coordinated by Łukasiewicz – PORT, and will also significantly enrich PORT’s experimental portfolio for commercial partners.
Martyna Skuła is a graduate of biology and bioinformatics with a strong interest in neurobiology. In her research work, she aims to combine traditional laboratory techniques with modern computational tools such as deep machine learning to explore the impact of chronic stress on the brain and behavior. Her research will be of great importance for a better understanding of stress mechanisms, which constitute a risk factor for many serious mental disorders, including depression.
The doctoral project will be supervised by scientists from Wrocław University of Science and Technology: Prof. Joanna Rymaszewska (Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine), Prof. Tomasz Kajdanowicz (Department of Artificial Intelligence, Faculty of Computer Science and Telecommunications), and Dr. Michał Ślęzak (Łukasiewicz – PORT).
