About
The Institute of Molecular Medical Microbiology (ZMMM) is a part of the Department of Microbiology, headed by Prof. Monika Brzychczy-Włoch, PhD, and was established as a new unit at the Faculty of Medicine, Jagiellonian University Medical College, in 2017, and in 2020, it merged with the Institute of Virology, which was then headed by Barbara Zawilińska, PhD.
Scientists forming the ZMMM include ambitious people who thrive on scientific research, which results in numerous scientific publications (nearly 100 publications in the past 5 years) in renowned international peer-reviewed journals as well as patents (15 patents and several patent applications) and implementations (8 implementations in the form of license agreements or sale of licenses). Additionally, a spin-off company (SepGen Sp. z o.o.) was founded by the leaders of ZMMM, in order to commercialize the research results.
Our team currently consists of eight research and teaching workers (including four independent scientists), one full-time research worker, six employees holding engineering and technical positions, one research and technical employee and several PhD students. The team is interdisciplinary in nature (physicians, biologists, biotechnologists, analysts, laboratory diagnosticians). The members of the team constantly develop and achieve additional degrees, scientific titles and titles of specialists in different fields of medicine.
In the past several years, the members of our team have served as managers of four large projects financed by the National Science Centre and three projects funded by the National Centre for Research and Development, as well as nearly thirty projects financed from the subsidies of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education for the maintenance of research potential or for the development of young scientists. Additionally, we have carried out studies under the framework of numerous projects involving scientific collaboration and in cooperation with various companies.
Our strength lies in cooperation with numerous research centers, including the AGH University of Science and Technology, the Silesian University of Technology, the Institutes of the Polish Academy of Sciences, as well as hospitals and diagnostic laboratories.
The research topics undertaken by the Department encompass a broad range of microbiology and its applications covering, among others, the development of innovative diagnostic tests, novel materials with antimicrobial properties, eradication of biofilm, the role and impact of the microbiome on human health or the use of artificial intelligence in laboratory diagnosis of infections.
Selected Research Topics of the ZMMM:
Selected Research Topics of the ZMMM:
-
Metagenomic studies (including bacteriobiomes, mycobiomes, viriomes, and archaeobiomes) - assessment of the qualitative composition of the microbiota from biological materials in the course of various diseases (celiac disease, Crohn's disease, type 1 and 2 diabetes, obesity, sepsis, COVID-19, schizophrenia, infectious endocarditis, atherosclerosis, endometriosis, infertility) using next-generation sequencing.
-
Qualitative and quantitative detection of microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, archaea, and viruses) and genes determining virulence and drug resistance of strains isolated from infections using PCR and real-time PCR methods.
-
Molecular typing of microorganisms using PFGE, MLVA, MLST and sequencing methods.
-
Development of modern methods of microbiological diagnostics using: fluorescent in situ hybridisation; Raman spectroscopy; machine learning; ELISAs; rapid immunochromatographic tests.
-
The study of immunogenic proteins of selected pathogenic bacteria and the assessment of the immunoreactivity of core epitopes versus epitopes modified by shortening or substitution, using the methods of SDS-PAGE; immunoblotting; Pepscan; ELISA.
-
Evaluation of the ability to form biofilm and its dynamics (biofilm in flow) by clinical strains of bacteria using qualitative and quantitative methods (assessment of the degree of surface occupation, culture, quantitative real-time PCR), and imaging methods (fluorescence microscopy, SEM).
-
Development of modern methods of combating bacterial biofilms using noble metal nanoparticles; antibiotic nanoparticles; proteins with antibacterial properties; and also by functionalising the surface by incorporating various functional groups.
-
Study of phenotypic, genotypic, and epigenetic changes of selected species of bacteria, herpesviruses, and HPV with high oncogenic potential.
-
Evaluation of antibacterial and antiviral properties of selected substances and materials using cell cultures, microscopic and spectrofluorimetric methods.
Last updated June 2022
