Marcin Zagórski (group leader)

I started as an assistant professor at the Faculty of Physics, Astronomy and Computer Science of Jagiellonian University in November 2018. 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.

 

 

 

Maciej Majka (postdoc)

Maciej joined the group in June 2019. Before that he was a postdoc at Jagiellonian University in the Statistical Physics Division. He derived the thermodynamically consistent fluctuation-dissipation relation for the spatially correlated noise and applied it to describe the non-equilibrium effects in like-charge attraction of particles in ionic solutions. He received his PhD in Biophysics at Jagiellonian University for work on spatially correlated phenomena in soft matter and bio-molecular systems with Paweł Góra.

 

 

 

 

Richard Ho (postdoc)

Richard joined the group in October 2019. He did his PhD at the University of Edinburgh studying homogeneous isotropic turbulence under the supervision of Arjun Berera. During his PhD he also did research on the intersection of turbulence and chaos, using ideas from dynamical systems theory. This is his first postdoc position.

 

 

 

 

 

Hélder Larraguível (research assistant)

Hélder joined the group in June 2022 as a research assistant. Currently, he is on the verge of finishing 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.

 

 

 

Tomasz Kuliński (master’s student)

Tomasz joined the group in October 2021. He is a biophysics master’s student at Jagiellonian University. He is also pursuing the additional physics and natural science teacher certification programme at JU. During his undergraduate studies he worked on cellular migration in a wound healing model on a polylactide surface under supervision of prof. Zenon Rajfur. In his work he used in-vitro cell cultures, DIC video microscopy and image analysis. His other interests include philosophy, sociology, psychology, art and gamedev.

 

 

 

 

Joanna Doliwa (undergrad)

Joanna joined the group in June 2022. She is a neuroscience undergraduate student 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.

 

 

 

 

Alumni

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.

 

 

 

 

 

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.