Prof. Karolina Archacka from the UW’s Faculty of Biology is leading a project that has received over PLN 10 million in funding under the Medical Research Agency’s TRANSMED I competition. The researcher’s team will work on a special biomaterial that may aid in the regeneration of skeletal muscles. The University of Warsaw is also a consortium partner in another awarded project, led by the Mossakowski Medical Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences.

This is a project whose results could realistically help in the development of new methods for treating injuries and diseases associated with skeletal muscle damage. The team led by Dr Karolina Archacka from the Department of Cytology at the UW’s Institute of Developmental Biology and Biomedical Sciences, will work on creating a modern biomaterial in the form of special peptide gels that can help the body rebuild damaged muscles. The research is translational in nature, meaning that its aim is to translate laboratory discoveries into future medical applications.

The project “Development of a protocol based on functionalised peptide hydrogels supporting skeletal muscle reconstruction” has received funding of PLN 10,039,559. The research will be conducted by a team of researchers from the Department of Cytology: Prof. Edyta Brzóska-Wójtowicz, Prof. Maria Anna Ciemerych-Litwinienko, Prof. Iwona Grabowska-Kowalik, Prof. Małgorzata Zimowska-Wypych, Władysława Stremińska and Katarzyna Jańczyk-Ilach, in collaboration with the team of Prof. Sylwia Rodziewicz-Motowidło from the Faculty of Chemistry at the University of Gdańsk.

In the Medical Research Agency’s competition for the development of research and development projects in the field of translational medicine (TRANSMED I), 23 projects were awarded funding totalling over PLN 238,685,010.98. They include “Personalised antibacterial therapy of chronic wounds: preclinical evaluation of specific enzybiotics to improve wound healing outcomes”, led by the Mossakowski Medical Research Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences, in which the UW acts as a consortium partner.

The full list of projects recommended for funding can be found on the Medical Research Agency’s website – https://abm.gov.pl/en>>