Head:  Sławomir Pikuła

Degrees:

2002 Professor of Biological Sciences, nomination by the President of the Republic of Poland, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, PAS

1995 DSc Habil (biochemistry), Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, PAS

1985 PhD in Biology (biochemistry), Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, PAS

1977 MSc in Biology, University of Warsaw

Research trainings:

1985-1988  Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Health, Science Center at Syracuse, State University of  New  York,  Syracuse,  NY  (Dr.  Anthony N. Martonosi)

1993-1994 Visiting Scientists, Department of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR (Dr. Piotr Zimniak)

1995-1998 Visiting Scientists, Department of Human Biochemistry and Genetics, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Galveston, TX (Dr. Yogesh C. Awasthi)

Professional employments:

1997- present Head of the Laboratory of Lipid Biochemistry

2007-2011 Head of the Department of Biochemistry, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, PAS

Honors and fellowships:

2007 - present Member of the Scientific Council, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, PAS

2007-2014 Member of the Committee of Biochemistry and Biophysics, PAS

2003 present Member of the editorial board of international journal Acta Biochimica Polonica (associate editor)

2005 - present Editor-in-chief of polish scientific journal Postępy Biochemii (Advances in Biochemistry)

1995 present Polish Biochemical Society

Staff: Łukasz Bożycki (PhD student), Magdalena Komiażyk-Mikulska (PhD student), Monika Roszkowska (PhD student), Krzysztof J. Skowronek, Agnieszka Strzelecka-Kiliszek

Research profile:

• calcium homeostasis with an emphasis on calcium- and lipid-binding proteins, including mammalian and plant annexins
• early stages of biomineralization with a focus on biogenesis and the function of matrix vesicles
• membrane dynamics and membrane repair process
• vesicular transport with a focus on intracellular transport of cholesterol in norm and pathology
• lipid metabolism in health and disease with a focus on signal transduction and transport of ions, metabolites and xenobiotics through biological membranes
• ion channels formed by calcium- and  membrane-binding proteins with a focus on nucleotides as intracellular messengers and their target proteins
• annexin-related human diseases, annexinopathies

Current research activities:

• structure-function relationship within the mammalian family of membrane- and calcium-binding  proteins, annexins, with special emphasis on the physiological and pathological mineralization
• ion channel properties of annexins
• participation of annexins in transport of cholesterol and secretion of catecholamines
• factors affecting annexins, alkaline  phosphatase, and  S100  protein  functioning during matrix vesicles-mediated biological mineralization

Selected publications:

Strzelecka-Kiliszek A., Mebarek S., Roszkowska M., Buchet R., Magne D., Pikuła S. (2017) Functions of Rho family of small GTPases and Rho-associated coiled-coil kinases in bone cells during differentiation and mineralization. Biochim Biophys Acta, 1861: 1009-1023.

Francois-Moutal L., Ouberai M.M., Maniti O., Welland M.E., Strzelecka-Kiliszek A., Woś M., Pikuła S., Bandorowicz-Pikuła J., Marcillat O., Granjon T. (2016) Two-step membrane binding of NDPK-B induces membrane fluidity decrease and changes in lipid lateral organization and protein cluster formation. Langmuir, 32: 12923-12933.

Woś M., Szczepanowska J., Pikuła S., Tylki-Szymanska A., Zabłocki K., Bandorowicz-Pikuła J. (2016) Mitochondrial dysfunction in fibroblasts derived from patients with Niemann-Pick type C disease. Arch Biochem Biophys, 593: 50-59.

Ren Z., Do L.D., Bechkoff G., Mebarek S., Keloglu N., Ahamada S., Meena S., Magne D., Pikula S., Wu Y., Buchet R. (2015) Direct determination of phosphatase activity from physiological substrates in cells. PLoS One, 10(3): e0120087.

Ćmoch A., Podszywalow-Bartnicka P., Palczewska M., Piwocka K., Groves P., Pikula S. (2014) Stimulators of mineralization limit the invasive phenotype of human osteosarcoma cells by a mechanism involving impaired invadopodia formation. PLoS One, 9(10): e109938.