{"id":87994,"date":"2025-07-11T11:24:08","date_gmt":"2025-07-11T09:24:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/?p=87994"},"modified":"2025-12-16T15:03:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T14:03:14","slug":"dr-mateusz-kucharczyk-awarded-ministerial-scholarship-for-outstanding-young-scientists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/dr-mateusz-kucharczyk-awarded-ministerial-scholarship-for-outstanding-young-scientists\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr. Mateusz Kucharczyk Awarded Ministerial Scholarship for Outstanding Young Scientists"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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With a determination that has driven him since childhood and a passion unshaken by setbacks, Dr. Mateusz Kucharczyk, Head of the Cancer Neurophysiology Group at \u0141ukasiewicz \u2013 PORT, is now recognized as one of the most promising young scientists in Poland. A recipient of the Minister of Science\u2019s Scholarship for Outstanding Young Scientists, former Marie Sk\u0142odowska-Curie Fellow, lecturer, mentor, and leader of an interdisciplinary research team, Dr. Kucharczyk is conducting groundbreaking research at the intersection of neurobiology, oncology, and emerging technologies. In conversation, he emphasizes that success in science requires more than just talent \u2013 it demands perseverance. <\/b><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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I always knew I wanted to be a scientist<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\u201cI knew I wanted to be a scientist when I was just ten years old,\u201d says Dr. Kucharczyk. \u201cIn high school, I followed an individual learning program because I spent most of my time attending classes at the Jagiellonian University and the University of Agriculture. I was more of a guest at school.<\/em>\u201d <\/p>

Fascinated by chemistry, physics, and biology from an early age, he always planned to pursue science and technology. Studying biotechnology at the Jagiellonian University turned out to be the perfect choice \u2013 one he says he would make again. He appreciates that in Poland, higher education is publicly funded, a privilege not available to young people in every country. <\/p>

After graduating, he took his time choosing a PhD topic: \u201cI was aiming for specific techniques \u2013 I was interested in electrophysiology, microscopy, building microscopes, pharmacology. I knew I wanted to master a specific skill set,\u201d he recalls. This path ultimately led him to University College London, one of the world\u2019s top institutions. As part of the Marie Sk\u0142odowska-Curie Program, he trained with scientists who had worked alongside Nobel Prize winners \u2013 an experience he says, \u201cchanges everything.\u201d <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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A lab built from the ground up<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Returning to Poland in 2023 marked a new chapter in his career. At \u0141ukasiewicz \u2013 PORT, he established a state-of-the-art laboratory covering over 400 square meters. He equipped it with advanced research infrastructure and built an interdisciplinary team. \u201cIt was an intense, chaotic, and at times overwhelming period \u2013 but also incredibly rewarding,\u201d says Dr. Kucharczyk, while emphasizing the value of mentorship and collaboration: \u201cWithout a good team, nothing can be achieved alone. While awards may go to individuals, science today is rarely done solo.\u201d <\/p>

Currently, his team focuses on understanding the mechanisms of cancer pain and developing effective therapies. They collaborate with research institutions in Denmark, Canada, the UK, and Germany, among others. Their latest paper, just published in Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy (IF = 7.5, Q1), investigates the effects of zolpidem, a well-known sleep aid, in the context of stroke recovery. Dr. Kucharczyk personally conducted the electrophysiological research in collaboration with the Jagiellonian University Medical College. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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During the PORT for Health Neuroscience conference, Mateusz introduced participants to topics related to somatosensation and the neurobiology of cancer.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Successes and setbacks<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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A cornerstone of his mission is supporting young researchers. \u201cScience isn\u2019t a sprint \u2013 it\u2019s a marathon. It requires long-term planning. That\u2019s why it\u2019s so important for our young scientists to go abroad, build networks, learn, and come back with new experience,\u201d he explains. He is also candid about the reality of the scientific path: \u201cFor every successful experiment, there are a thousand that don\u2019t work.\u201d <\/p>

According to Dr. Kucharczyk, the English word perseverance <\/em>best captures what science truly demands: \u201cPersistence, despite everything. It\u2019s not enough to study hard, get good grades, or work long hours \u2013 you also need luck. And luck, like buses, sometimes comes in pairs, and sometimes doesn\u2019t come at all. That\u2019s when perseverance matters most.\u201d <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With a determination that has driven him since childhood and a passion unshaken by setbacks, Dr. Mateusz Kucharczyk, Head of the Cancer Neurophysiology Group at \u0141ukasiewicz \u2013 PORT, is now recognized as one of the most promising young scientists in Poland. A recipient of the Minister of Science\u2019s Scholarship for Outstanding Young Scientists, former Marie Sk\u0142odowska-Curie Fellow, lecturer, mentor, and leader of an interdisciplinary research team <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":249,"featured_media":81170,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"With a determination that has driven him since childhood and a passion unshaken by setbacks, Dr. Mateusz Kucharczyk, Head of the Cancer Neurophysiology Group at \u0141ukasiewicz \u2013 PORT, is now recognized as one of the most promising young scientists in Poland. A recipient of the Minister of Science\u2019s Scholarship for Outstanding Young Scientists, former Marie Sk\u0142odowska-Curie Fellow, lecturer, mentor, and leader of an interdisciplinary research team","_seopress_robots_index":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[204],"tags":[796],"class_list":["post-87994","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-successes"],"acf":{"czas_czytania":"3"},"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-18 14:26:56","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87994","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/249"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87994"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87994\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88458,"href":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87994\/revisions\/88458"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81170"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}