We are pleased to announce that on March 19, 2026, the Scientific Council of IBCH PAS awarded the postdoctoral degree of habilitated doctor (DSc) to Dr. Joanna Banasiak, Dr. Katarzyna Klonowska, Dr. Natalia Szóstak, and Dr. Witold Andrałojć.

The Scientific Council endorsed the recommendations of the Habilitation Committees to distinguish the achievements of Dr. Banasiak and Dr. Klonowska due to their exceptionally high quality and significant scientific merit.

Sincere congratulations and best wishes for continued success in independent scientific careers for all!

Dr. Joanna Banasiak obtained the degree of habilitated doctor in the field of natural sciences, in the discipline of biological sciences, based on her scientific achievement titled “Expansion and specialization of ABCG transporters in legumes”.

Dr. Banasiak works at the Department of Plant Molecular Physiology. Her research focuses on the molecular mechanisms that determine the agronomic traits of legumes. In particular, she studies the functional characterization of ABC proteins, including their roles in the transport of secondary metabolites and plant hormones, their significance in regulating developmental processes, plant responses to environmental stresses, and interactions with microorganisms. Additionally, her work addresses the evolution of plant ABC proteins, as well as their expansion and specialization.

Dr. Katarzyna Klonowska obtained the degree of habilitated doctor in the field of natural sciences, in the discipline of biological sciences, based on her scientific achievement entitled “Germline and somatic loss-of-function mutations in the TSC1 and TSC2 genes – role in tumorigenesis and association with human phenotype”.

Dr. Klonowska heads the Department of Cancer Genetics. Her research focuses on the genetic basis of cancer, with a particular emphasis on the genetics of hereditary syndromes predisposing to tumors associated with the inactivation of tumor suppressor genes. In her work, she focuses on the characterization of mosaicism and the spectrum of somatic mutations in tumors occurring in individuals with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) and Birt–Hogg–Dubé syndrome (BHD). She is also involved in developing new next-generation sequencing (NGS) methods for ultrasensitive mutation profiling.

Dr. Natalia Szóstak obtained the degree of habilitated doctor in the field of natural sciences, in the discipline of biological sciences, based on her scientific achievement entitled “The role of the human gut mycobiota in organism homeostasis and the pathogenesis of cancer”.

Dr. Szóstak works at the Laboratory of Bioinformatics. She specializes in the use of advanced bioinformatics methods to analyze large-scale datasets. Her research focuses on the composition and function of the human gut mycobiota and its interactions with the host immune system. In her work, she concentrates on identifying the mechanisms underlying disease development, with a particular emphasis on cancer-related processes and the organism’s response to immunotherapy. She is also engaged in the development and application of high-throughput data analysis methods in biomedical research.

Dr. Witold Andrałojć obtained the degree of habilitated doctor in the field of natural sciences, in the discipline of chemical sciences, based on her scientific achievement titled “Non-canonical nucleic acid structures induced by specific binding of metal ions”.

Dr. Andrałojć heads the Department of Biomolecular NMR, which specializes in studying the structure, dynamics, and interactions of nucleic acids using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Dr Andrałojć’s current research interests focus on topics such as the sequence–structure relationship of G-quadruplexes, the modification of DNAzyme properties based on structure, and the development of paramagnetic methods in nucleic acid NMR spectroscopy.