Marta Miączyńska is a Polish researcher in the field of

molecular cell biology Cell biology (also cellular biology or cytology) is a branch of biology that studies the structure, function, and behavior of cells. All living organisms are made of cells. A cell is the basic unit of life that is responsible for the living and ...

. A professor of biological sciences, she leads the Laboratory of Cell Biology at the International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

(IIMCB). Since December 2018, she has been director of the IIMCB.

Education and career

Miączyńska graduated in molecular biology from Jagiellonian University in 1992 and received her PhD in genetics from the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

in 1997. She was a postdoctoral fellow in the group of Marino Zerial at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg (1998–2000) and at the

Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics __NOTOC__ The Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG) is a biology research institute located in Dresden, Germany. It was founded in 1998 and was fully operational in 2001. Research groups in the institute work in m ...

in Dresden (2001–2004). After returning to Poland in 2005, she received her habilitation (the highest scientific degree in Poland) in 2008 and her professorial title in 2013.

Research

Miączyńska's research focuses on molecular mechanisms integrating endocytic trafficking and intracellular signal transduction in health and disease. During her postdoctoral training, she discovered a distinct population of early endosomes in the cell, so called APPL endosomes. Together with her group at the IIMCB, she characterized novel functions of endocytic proteins in the regulation of signal transduction and transcription, as well as the role of endosomes as signaling platforms for receptors of growth factors and cytokines. Their current research reveals aberrations in intracellular transport in cancer cells that can serve to design new therapies in oncology. She has co-authored over 60 publications.

Awards and memberships

Miączyńska has received fellowships from the Austrian Science Fund, the Human Frontier Science Program Organization, and L'Oreal Poland for Women and Science. She was a Wellcome Trust International Senior Fellow (2006–2012) and an International Scholar of the

Howard Hughes Medical Institute The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) is an American non-profit medical research organization headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland with additional facilities in Ashburn, Virginia. It was founded in 1953 by Howard Hughes, an American busin ...

(2006–2010). She led projects funded by the Polish-Swiss Research Program, the National Science Center, the Foundation for Polish Science, and the Max Planck Society. She served as a panelist for various funding agencies, including the

European Research Council The European Research Council (ERC) is a public body for funding of scientific and technological research conducted within the European Union (EU). Established by the European Commission in 2007, the ERC is composed of an independent Scientific ...

. In 2021, she received the Polish Prime Minister's Award for outstanding scientific achievements. Miączyńska is an elected member of the Polish Academy of Sciences, the

European Molecular Biology Organization The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) is a professional, non-profit organization of more than 2,100 life scientists. Its goal is to promote research in life science and enable international exchange between scientists. It co-funds cour ...

(EMBO), and the Academia Europaea. She served as a member of the Council of the National Science Center (2016–2018). She is currently a member of EMBO Council and a member of the Board of Directors of the EU-LIFE, the alliance of research institutes advocating for excellent research in Europe, in which the IIMCB is the only Polish member. In January 2024, she was appointed Co-Chair o
EU-LIFE
Under her directorship, the IIMCB obtained an institutional grant for years 2023-2029, funded with 15 M EUR in the Teaming for Excellence programme under Horizon Europe for the project entitled "RNA and Cell Biology - from Fundamental Research to Therapies", acronym RACE. The project is conducted in collaboration with the Medical Research Council, Human Genetics Unit (MRC-HGU) at the University of Edinburgh and the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology (VIB). Marta Miączyńska is a leader of this project.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miączyńska, Marta University of Vienna alumni Jagiellonian University alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Living people