Group members

Marcin Zagórski (group leader)

I started as an Assistant Professor in November 2018 and got Associated Professor position in October 2024 at the Faculty of Physics, Astronomy and Computer Science of Jagiellonian University. Before that I did two postdocs at IST Austria, first with Tobias Bollenbach (currently at the University of Cologne) and second with Anna Kicheva. My research is focused on unravelling biophysical mechanisms resulting in precise patterning of developing tissues. In our group we apply physics methods to a wide range of biological questions, encompassing gene regulation, cell signalling and evolutionary adaptation.  See http://cs.if.uj.edu.pl/zagorski/ for selected distinctions.

 

 

 

 

Hélder Larraguível (postdoc)

Hélder joined the group in June 2022 as a research assistant. In early 2023 he defended his Ph.D. at the University of Warsaw under the supervision of Prof. Piotr Sułkowski. His previous research focused on the overlap between string theory, supersymmetry, and knot theory. As a naturally curious person, he likes to explore various research directions, which lead him to the field of developmental biology. He is interested in pattern formation, from rainbow stripes on mountains to the stripes on a tiger, these are fascinating ubiquitous natural phenomena. Besides staring at equations he also enjoys hiking or cycling in the mountains, traveling, practicing his Polish with podcasts, and sharing a coffee or a beer with friends.

 

 

 

Szymon Starzonek (postdoc)

Szymon Starzonek joined the group in July 2024, after a postdoctoral position at the University of Ljubljana (Aleš Iglič’s group). He began his scientific career in 2012 as a student. In 2022, he defended his doctoral thesis in physics at the Institute of High Pressure Physics PAS, where he had been working since 2014. In his research, he focuses on complex systems such as soft condensed matter (including liquid crystals, glasses, and polymers) as well as biological systems (such as food, tissues, and cells). His studies involve dielectric measurements, computer simulations, and theoretical modeling. Based od the theory of critical phenomena, he describes the dynamics and phase behaviour in soft matter model systems. He applies fundamental research findings to applied science areas such as energy storage and conversion, as well as high-pressure food preservation. In his leisure time, he enjoys hiking, playing chess and reading books. He is also a photographer and sailor.

 

 

 

Mohammad Salar Ghasemi Nasab (PhD student)

Salar joined the group in October 2023 as a PhD student. He took his master’s degree in biomedical engineering. He is interested in systems biology and is motivated to unlock biological systems using computational modeling. In his master’s research project, he developed a multi-scale model for the angiogenesis process and investigated the impact of hemodynamic parameters in this process. Right now he is focused on developing a model for a better understanding of the role of physical stimulus on tissue morphology.

 

 

 

 

 

Pablo Vidal Franco (PhD student)

Pablo joined the group in October 2024 as a PhD student. After a decade working as a software engineer, driven by the many complex interactions among his cats, he decided to pursue a BSc in Animal Behavior at the University of Life Sciences in Lublin. In February 2023 he finished his MSc in Environmental and Plant Biotechnology, discussing the role of miRNAs in the regulation of heat stress gene expression in cell cultures using CRISPR/Cas9. He is also currently studying a MSc in Neurobiology at the Jagiellonian University. His free time is spent listening to music and the last thing he duckduckwent to was “fungi brain gradient ncbi”.

 

 

 

Joanna Doliwa (master’s student)

Joanna joined the group in June 2022. In 2023 she has successfully defended her Bachelor thesis on the role of repressilator in modelling of the mammalian circadian clock. In October 2023 she started graduate studies in biophysics at the Jagiellonian University. Her interests range from mathematical models describing the initiation of action potentials in individual neurons, to structural brain changes induced by musical training. Joanna has experience in working with cell cultures and performing colocalization analysis on microscope images.

 

 

 

 

Maria Rybak (master’s student)

Maria joined the group in November 2024. She completed a bachelor’s degree in biotechnology at Jagiellonian University with her thesis on mercury resistance in microorganisms. Currently, she is pursuing a master’s degree in biophysics at Jagiellonian University and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics at AGH University of Science and Technology. She’s engaged in a project concerning DNA repair – more specifically, MutS protein binding to DNA sequences depending on the mismatch placement jointly with prof. Ewelina Lipiec. This project includes atomic force microscopy imaging and mathematical modeling to estimate the probability of binding. Maria’s scientific interests are molecular genetics, microscopy techniques and applied mathematics. Besides her studies, she enjoys playing musical instruments, sports and hitchhiking.

 

 

 

 

Alumni

Maciej Majka (postdoc)

Maciej joined the group in June 2019 as a postdoc, coming from the position of research associate in Statistical Physics Division at Jagiellonian University. He is a PhD in biophysics, interested in applying theoretical physics to understand soft matter and biological systems. His previous research focused on collective effects in diffusive transport, self-assembly in colloids and phase transitions in disordered systems. In our group, he developed analytical methods for studying pattern stability and patterning precision. In 2024 he was awarded Fulbright Scholar-In-Residence fellowship at East Carolina University in US, where he moved to work on cell motility with prof. Martin Bier.

 

 

 

 

Richard Ho (postdoc)

Richard joined the group in October 2019 as a postdoc. He developed computational methods for studying pattern formation in tissues with expanding source regions. In Fall 2022 he joined group of prof. Luiza Angheluta-Bauer at University of Oslo to further study pattern formation in complex dynamical systems.

 

 

 

 

 

Adela Staszowska (postdoc)

Adela has joined the group in July 2020 as a postdoc. She did her research on properties of gene regulatory networks that enhance patterning precision in developing tissues. In November 2021 she joined a start-up company to work on deep tech R&D and focus on science communication on the industry-academia interface.

 

 

 

 

 

Tomasz Kuliński (master’s student)

Tomasz joined the group in October 2021 as master’s student. He defended his master thesis “Properties of regulatory mechanisms affecting patterning precision of gene expression domains in developmental tissues” in July 2023. He is currently at Uppsala University, Sweden, in a research program focused on precision medicine with applications to neurological disorders.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jan Jedryszek (undergrad)

Jan joined the group in November 2019 as undergrad student. He defended his bachelor thesis “Error correction mechanisms in pattern formation of developing tissues” in September 2020. He is currently at Heidelberg University, studying at the Max Planck School ‘Matter to Life’, a Max Planck Society research group focused on researching the origins of biological life and how life-like processes, functions and objects can be quantitatively simulated, predicted and created in the laboratory.

 

 

 

 

Maciej Kania (undergrad)

Maciej joined the group in April 2021 as undergrad student. In July 2022, he defended his bachelor thesis “The role of inhibitory synaptic plasticity in shaping neuronal dynamics”. He is currently a Master student of Neurasmus program, an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree in Neurosciences. Maciej will continue his studies at the VU Amsterdam, University of Bordeaux and University of Laval in Quebec, specialising in advanced Experimental Neurosciences, including Neurophotonics.