The National Science Centre has announced the results of the final round of the MINIATURA 9 competition. Among the laureates receiving funding for preliminary and pilot research are two researchers from our Faculty: Dr. Oktawia Osiecka and Dr. Karolina Witek. Their projects address key challenges in modern pharmacotherapy – safety in treating neuropsychiatric disorders and the fight against bacterial drug resistance.

In the recently concluded edition of the competition (applications submitted in July), six projects from the Jagiellonian University Medical College made it to the ranking list, with a total value of nearly 300,000 PLN. We are pleased that a significant portion of this pool consists of grants for researchers from the Faculty of Pharmacy, which confirms the high scientific potential of our unit.

Laureates from the Faculty of Pharmacy

In the final round of the MINIATURA 9 competition, funding was awarded to:

• Dr. Oktawia Osiecka – project titled “From binding to action: the role of dopamine D2 receptor ligand binding kinetics in safe pharmacotherapy of neuropsychiatric disorders”. These studies aim to provide a deeper understanding of molecular mechanisms that can contribute to designing safer drugs used in psychiatry, minimizing the risk of adverse effects.

• Dr. Karolina Witek – project titled “Evaluation of the potential of imidazolidinone derivatives to overcome antibiotic resistance of Staphylococcus aureus strains by modulating NorA and MsrA transporters”. This project aligns with the priority fight against the growing problem of antibiotic resistance. The researcher will focus on searching for new molecules capable of “unlocking” the sensitivity of Staphylococcus aureus to treatment.

Laureates from UJ CM

Our researchers joined the group of laureates from other UJ CM faculties who also obtained funding in this round. They are:

• Dr. Alicja Skórkowska (JCET) – research on mitochondria in brain ischemia,

• Dr. Marta Olszewska (Faculty of Medicine) – research on the pathogenesis of arthritis in children,

• Dr. Magdalena Górny (Faculty of Medicine) – research on a schizophrenia model,

• Dr. Wojciech Sydor (Faculty of Medicine) – lipidomic profiling in COVID-19.

It is worth recalling that within the ongoing MINIATURA 9 competition, other scientists from UJ CM also received grants in previous months (including Dr. Kinga Sałaciak, whose research also strengthens the achievements of pharmaceutical sciences at our university).

About the MINIATURA Competition

The MINIATURA competition, organized by the National Science Centre (NCN), is directed at persons who obtained their PhD degree no earlier than January 1, 2013. The aim of the grants (ranging from 5,000 to 50,000 PLN) is to finance single scientific activities, such as preliminary research, library searches, internships, or research trips. These “small grants” often constitute the first step to preparing assumptions for large research projects.

In this edition, interest in the competition was enormous – nearly 2,000 applications were submitted to the NCN, and the budget was increased to over 25 million PLN. The success rate was 32%, which further highlights the value of the awarded projects.

We sincerely congratulate our Researchers and wish them fruitful results in their work!

Full ranking lists are available on the National Science Centre website.