News

NEWS

01.10.2023

Our Laboratory Joins Consortium to Combat Antibiotic Resistance in Tuberculosis

Our laboratory proudly announces its participation in a groundbreaking consortium aimed at tackling the growing challenge of antibiotic resistance in tuberculosis (TB). Led by dr. Elwira Sieniawska, the project, titled "The Role of Natural Products in Overcoming Drug Resistance of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis," is funded under NCN Grant Opus and involves collaboration between the Medical University of Lublin, the Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases, and the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn.

The project aims to determine the synergistic mechanism of action between antibiotics and natural products (adjuvants) against Mycobacterium tuberculosis through the innovative integration of metabolomics, transcriptomics, and bioinformatics. Selected combinations will be validated in vivo using a zebrafish (Danio rerio) model of tuberculosis.

With tuberculosis becoming increasingly drug-resistant worldwide, this research responds to the urgent need for more effective treatments. Standard treatment regimens are often time-consuming and ineffective against multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB). The project seeks to understand the metabolic changes induced by the combined action of antibiotics and natural adjuvants, paving the way for the development of new therapeutic approaches.

By integrating cutting-edge research techniques and utilizing the latest animal model for tuberculosis research, the project aims to uncover the potential of natural substances in supporting tuberculosis antibiotic therapy. Stay tuned for updates on this groundbreaking research initiative.

21.09.2023

For zebrafish halfway across the world? Actually, why not?! 😁 Two days of flight, sleeping at airports and you're there! We would like to thank the organizers and participants of 🌴🐟 21st Australia and New Zealand Zebrafish Meeting 🐟🌴 for four intense days filled to the brim with scientific meetings at the highest level! Below is a short photo report from our trip.

20.09.2023

It has already become a tradition – as we do each year, we spent time with young scientist at the Olsztyn Days of Science and Art showing how much colors zebrafish brings to our lives!

5.04.2023

We are happy to host in ZebrafishLab people from all over the world - from Japan to Brazil !

Let us introduce

Shiho Okitsu-Sakurayama, PhD from University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, JAPAN who under NAWA exchange programme is studing the function of the galanin during regeneration of the nervous system using zebrafish as a model organism.

And
Kaina Rocha Cabrera Fagundes, MSc from UNESP campus do Litoral Paulista, BRAZIL who is doing a part o his PhD project concerning the influence of fluoxetine on metabolism and behaviour.

14.07.2022

ZEBRAFISHLAB & TRANSPHARMATION POLAND

We are glad to announce that our team is closely collaborating with Transpharmation Poland Sp. z o.o., based at the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn. Transpharmation is a contract research organization led by scientists, widely recognized by drug developing companies worldwide for researching and delivering life-changing medicines. Their clients benefit from decades of experience in cross-species and cross-therapeutic areas of preclinical services. Małgorzata Mierzejewska, a member of our team, and at the same time an employee of Transpharmation Poland, is working on the implementation of the zebrafish model as a functional model for testing new chemical entities for neurobiological diseases. The Associate Director/Head of Transpharmation Poland, Ewa Sokołowska, Ph.D., personally supervises the course of research and substantively supports the Zebrafishlab team's activities. We believe that this cooperation will significantly contribute to the development of a new application of the zebrafish model in a highly translational manner. Together we can do great things!

To learn more please visit the company's website and profile on LinkedIn:

https://www.transpharmation.co.uk/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/transpharmation/mycompany/

15.12.2021

The first round of Travel Grants awarded by Polish Zebrafish Society was finished! The winners of this edition of the competition were mgr farm. Joanna Mikłosz from the Department of Pharmacodynamics, Medical University of Bialystok and mgr farm. Monika Maciąg from the Department of Biopharmacy at the Medical University of Lublin. Both winners were carried out training at the Genomics and Transcriptomics Laboratory at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn.

01-06.02.2021

We had a great pleasure to host dr Jarosław Widelski from Medical University in Lublin, Faculty of Pharmacy in our lab!

In the frame of grant “Coumarins as substances with potential anxiolytic activity” (2017/25/N/NZ7/01899) from the National Science Center coumarins compounds isolated from plants belonging to the Apiaceae family were tested. The isolation process was performed on high-performance countercurrent chromatography (HPCCC). For evaluation of anxiolytic activity zebrafish model on anxiety (based on thigmotaxis index) was used. Moreover, changes in expression genes related to anxiety state were

studied using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR).

The collaboration between the two scientific centers (the Medical University of Lublin and University Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn) allowed the creation of an innovative research platform enabling the isolation of homogeneous compounds of high purity from plant material, evaluation of their anxiolytic activity (behavioral tests on Danio rerio larvae). Moreover, evaluation of the effects on the relative expression (RT-PCR) of genes related to neurotransmitters and neuronal activity will help to understand the mechanism of anti-anxiety activity of the tested compounds.

26-27.09.2019

Meeting of the Polish Zebrafish Society, Warsaw, Poland

18-20.09.2019

4th Zebrafish for Personalized/Precision Medicine (ZPPM) Conference & 3rd Zebrafish Neuroscience Workshop Toronto, Canada

1-4.09.2019

8th Annual International Zebrafish Husbandry Course, Tecniplast Congress Center, Buguggiate (VA), Italy

13.01.2019- 27.01.2019

Traineeship at the University of Leiden, Netherlands

Natalia Kasica-Jarosz and Małgorzata Chmielewska-Krzesińska have participated in the traineeship at the University of Leiden (Netherlands), Institute of Biology from 13.01.2019 to 27.01.2019 under supervision of Prof. dr. Ewa Snaar-Jagalska and dr Lampeng Chen. They were introduced to the techniques of cancer cells microincjections to the zebrafish embryos, as well as visualization of cancer developed phenotypes.

11.11.-10.12.2018

We have visitors! :) Ishaku Leo Elisha from Tshwane University of Technology, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences from South Africa and Joanna Kowalczyk from the Medical University of Lublin, Department of Applied Pharmacy. We'll see if zebrafish and plant extracts are a perfect combination!

19.10.2018

Our team has increased for another PhD! Natalia Kasica-Jarosz has defended the doctoral thesis entitled " The role of the pituitary adenylate-cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) -38 in the course of damage to the hair cells by pro-inflammatory agents and oxidative stress using zebrafish as a model organism". Special thanks to prof. dr hab. Jerzy Kaleczyc and dr Piotr Podlasz who supervised this dissertation.

26-28.09.2018

Days of Science and Art in Olsztyn, European Reserchears’ Night

As we said before we have joined this event again! On 26-28.09.2018 our zebrafish team have actively took part in Days of Science and Art in Olsztyn as well as in European Reserchears’ Night. All interested visitors could hear about the potency and possibilities of zebrafish. The youngest audience was invited to create our own fluorescent zebrafish aquarium.

05-07.09.2018

3rd Polish Zebrafish Society Workshop has just finished! We had the honor of organizing the third edition in Olsztyn at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, UWM. We would like to thank our participants for so many applications and arrivals, great energy, commitment and exchange of experience. We hope that the group of people working in Poland on zebrafish will grow again! Many thanks to our team for the whole three days of the workshop and months of preparation. We also cordially thank the board of the Polish Zebrafish Society, all invited speakers and sponsors - without you it would be impossible! (gallery)

10-13.07.2018

Piotr Podlasz attended to 11th Annual Zebrafish Disease Models Conferencein in Leiden, NL. It was worth to go and see what is now being done in the world using zebrafish as a model of disease. It was a great opportunity to meet with excellent scientists including Poles working with this model abroad. Let's hope that someday they will decide to come back to Poland and share their knowledge :).

18-22.06.2018

From 18.06.18 to 22.06.18 we had a great pleasure to host PhD student Tomasz Sienkiewicz from Department of Vertebrate Biology and Conservation, Institute of Zoology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Wroclaw. This visit was aimed at learning new techniques used in our laboratory in neuroscience on reef fish, including neuronal tracing, whole-mount immunofluorescent staining and confocal microscopy.

04-12.06.2018

From 04.06.2018 to 12.06.2018 we had a great pleasure to host dr Krzysztof Rakus and his PhD student Miriam Mojżesz from Department of Evolutionary Immunology, Institute of Zoology,Jagiellonian University. Our aim was to perform studies dealing with fish viral infections. We spent hardworking but effective time on it!

07-11.06.2018

From 07.06.2018 to 11.06.2018 we had a great pleasure to host dr Agnieszka Michalak and MSc Izabela Banaszkiewicz from the Medical University of Lublin. Our visitors were performed to some operations on zebrafish brain and nervous system. Moreover, they were broadly introduced to our Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, what we can admire at the picture below :)

28-29.05.18

Our laboratory with FUJIFILM Visualsonics, Inc organized Preclinical Imagining Workshop

The course consisted of scientific lectures covering application in cardiovascular, cancer, neuro research and is terminated by the hands on demonstration. Trainer: Dieter Fuchs, Market Development and Preclinical Applications Manager, FUJIFILM Visualsonics, Inc.

05-14.02.18

Traineeship at the University of Leiden, Netherlands

Natalia Kasica-Jarosz and Anna Jakimiuk have participated in the traineeship at the University of Leiden (Netherlands), Institute of Biology from 5.02.2018 to 14.02.2018 under supervision of Prof. dr. Herman Spaink. They were introduced to new techniques and modern equipment which can be used in research on zebrafish model.

12.2017

Alvaro Viljoen from the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tshwane University of Technology Pretoria, South Africa and Krystyna Skalicka-Woźniak from the Department of Pharmacognosy with Medicinal Plant Unit, Medical University of Lublin, Poland visited our laboratory.

13-21.12.17

From 13.12.2017 to 21.12.2017 we had a great pleasure to host PhD student Katarzyna Danieluk from Medical University of Lublin. Our research plan included investigations concerning pro- and anti- angiogenic factors studied in the larval zebrafish.

30.11.-01.12.17

2nd Polish Zebrafish Society Workshop

On 30.11-01.12 2017 we co-organized the second edition of our workshop “2nd workshop of the Polish Zebrafish Society –principles of zebrafish model in toxicology and behavioural studies” created on the initiative of Polish Zebrafish Society.

08.11.17

Piotr Podlasz gave a lecture at the seminar of Polish Society of Cell Biology at the Department of Animal Developmental Biology, Institute of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Wroclaw, entitled "Study of neuropeptide functions using zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a model organism" at the invitation of prof. Małgorzata Daczewska.

24.10-05.11.11.2017

From 24.10.2017 to 05.11.2017 we had a great pleasure to host dr Anna Serefko from Medical University of Lublin, Department of Applied Pharmacy. Our contribution concerned research on novel anxiolytic agents.

27-29.09.2017

Days of Science and Art in Olsztyn, European Reserchears’ Night

On 27-29.09.2017 our zebrafish team have actively took part in Days of Science and Art in Olsztyn as well as in European Reserchears’ Night. All interested visitors could hear about the potency and possibilities of zebrafish. The youngest audience was invited to create our own fluorescent zebrafish aquarium. We will definitively join this event next time!

13.10.17

Piotr Podlasz gave a lecture during the 50th anniversary of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine UWM in Olsztyn entitled “Zebrafish - a model organism in modern biochemical research”

03-07.07.2017

10th European ZebraFish Meeting

On 3-7 July 2017 we have participated in 10th European ZebraFish Meeting in Budapest, Hungary. This prestigious conference covered a large range of topics on zebrafish and other teleost species. Our zebrafish group from Olsztyn was part of the Polish representatives in the number of eleven among the 700 members of the conference community.

12-13.06.17

At the Creative Work Center of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Wierzba, the 1st Symposium "Healthy Animal - Safe Food", organized by the KNOW Scientific Consortium was held. The main objective of the Symposium was to evaluate the results of research activities of young scientists - beneficiaries of KNOW funds, granted as part of ESR research projects, POST-DOC research scholarships, and grants for leading laboratories. As part of the Symposium, two plenary sessions took place, during which four presentations were given by outstanding young employees of the Consortium. During the Symposium Piotr Podlasz presented results of our lab research.

21-22.04.2017

1st Polish Zebrafish Society Workshop

On 21-22.04.2017 we co-organized the “1st PTZ workshop – principles of zebrafish model in toxicology and behavioural studies” created on the initiative of Polish Zebrafish Society.

03.03.17

Piotr Podlasz gave a lecture at the seminar of Institute of Zoology and Biomedical Research, Jagiellonian University in Krakow, entitled " Zebrafish (Danio rerio) - as a model organism in scientific research” at the invitation of prof. Magdalena Chadzińska.

22.08-03.09.2016

Piotr Podlasz and Piotr Jakubowski visited the Centre for Molecular Medicine Norway at the University of Oslo, Norway at the invitation of Camila Vicencio Esguerra.

01-23.06.16

With a visit in Hungary

Natalia Kasica-Jarosz and Anna Jakimiuk visited Hungarian PACAP Research Group in Univeristy of Pecs, Medical School for an appointment of prof. dr hab. Dora Reglodi and dr hab. Andrea Tamas. During the visit we participated in Joint Conference of the Hungarian Pharmacology, Anatomy, Microcirculation and Physiological Societies (Pecs, Hungary, 1-4.06.2016). We would like to thank PhD students Adele Jungling and Balazs Fulop for your care and time!

We had a great pleasure to also visit Balaton Limnological Research Institute ecological Research Centre of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences for an appointment of dr Zsolt Pirger. We would like to thank all team dr Janos Gyori, dr Zita Zrinyi, dr Gabor Maasz and dr Zita Laszlo for spending, both socially and scientifically fruitful time!

18-19.03.2016

International FishMed Conference on Zebrafish Research

On March 18-19, 2016 we have attended the International FishMed Conference on Zebrafish Research (FishMed2016) which were held at the International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw (IIMCB).

01.06-31.08.15

Traineeship at the University of Helsinki, Finland

From 1.06.2015 to 31.08.2015 Natalia Kasica-Jarosz and Anna Jakimiuk have participated in the traineeship at the University of Helsinki (Finland), Institute of Biomedicine. We would like to thank Professor Pertti Panula, PhD Maria Sundvik and PhD Yu-Chia Chen for supervision, care and assistance.

17-19.09.2015

XIX International Congress of the Polish Pharmacological Society

Natalia Kasica-Jarosz and Anna Jakimiuk participated in the XIX International Congress of the Polish Pharmacological Society (Świnoujście, Poland, 17-19.09.2015) as a co-authors of the presentations entitled “Toxicity of the kynurenine pathway elements to the early life stages of zebrafish (Danio rerio)” and “P-glycoprotein inhibitors modulate levetiracetam effects in zebrafish epilepsy model”.

17-19.08.2014

Hearth of Europe: Zebrafish Meeting

On 17-19 September 2014 we have participated in the conference entitled “Heart of Europe: Zebrafish Meeting which was organised by the International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw. The objective of this conference was to present academic research carried out with an extensive use of zebrafish (Danio rerio) in many areas of science.

18-24.05.2014

Piotr Podlasz and Maciej Woźny visited the Faculty of Biosciences and Aquaculture at the University of Nordland in Bodo, Norway at the invitation of Igor Babiak. The visit was on purpose to establish scientific collaboration between the laboratories.