This year, the NCN awards for early-career researchers, who have made a significant contribution to research development, go to Łucja Kowalewska, Maciej Stolarski and Bartosz Szyszko. The Award ceremony was held on 15 October, at the Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology, in Kraków.
The winning researchers conduct their work in Warsaw and Wrocław. Łucja Kowalewska, who studies plant cell biology, and Maciej Stolarski, who explores the psychology of time, both work at the University of Warsaw, while Bartosz Szyszko, who specialises in supramolecular chemistry, conducts his research at the University of Wrocław.
The Award of the National Science Centre was established in 2013 and has since been granted to researchers whose work pushes the boundaries of knowledge and makes a significant contribution to the world of science, in recognition of their outstanding basic research projects conducted at Polish research institutions. The Award is granted in three categories: Humanities, Social Sciences and Art Sciences (HS), Physical Sciences and Engineering (ST) and Life Sciences (NZ). It is the most prestigious award in Poland recognising early-career researchers working at Polish research institutions.
2025 NCN Award winners: Bartosz Szyszko, Łucja Kowalewska, Maciej Stolarski
At the Award ceremony, Prof. Krzysztof Jóźwiak, NCN Director addressed the social purpose of science and the need to have it consistently funded. “In the 21st century, science is advancing faster than ever before, producing discoveries and providing solutions that only a few decades ago were considered science fiction”, he said. “Research and research-based innovation can significantly mitigate the effects of global threats”. Prof. Jóźwiak noted that financial uncertainty undermines the potential of the system. “We need to create an environment in which researchers would be motivated to develop their careers in Poland. This cannot be achieved if we have to fight for every penny each year just to ensure survival of the system till the next budget”, he said. “Decent funding for research and innovation is a strategic necessity. If Poland aspires to become a modern and innovation-driven economy, it must invest in knowledge, talent and local innovation with global impact”.
The Chair of the NCN Council, Prof. Tomasz Dietl, emphasised that the winners’ successes underlined the significance of grant funding. “Your achievements clearly demonstrate the importance of grant funding, including NCN funding”, he said. “Calls for proposal are not merely sources of funding for research and salaries, but an engine for new ideas, opportunity for a feedback from expert reviewers and chance to showcase one’s achievements to them”. He added that achieving a 25% success rate in NCN-funded calls would make it possible for all ambitious researchers to be included in the grant system, regardless of their age, speciality or university. “As a result, centres of academic excellence would be expanded and academic education enhanced, contributing to social and economic development”, he said and emphasised that despite significant development over the last decades, Poland continues to face new challenges. “Poland’s development and safety will largely depend on our innovativeness, cooperation and trust”, he noted.
The event featured Dr Marcin Kulasek from the Minister of Science, who ensured that regardless of the budget deficit and difficult geopolitical situation, the Polish government continued to seek new ways to increase the budget for research. “We are doing everything we can to find funds for research. There is a mutual understanding in this regard and it is only a matter of time before funding is secured. I believe we will finally be able to increase financial support, we are seeking solutions to this end”, he promised.
AWARD WINNERS
A new paradigm in cell biology
Dr hab. Łucja Kowalewska works at the Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw. Her research focuses on plant cell biology, particularly on the structure and dynamics of plastid membranes. “Shape recognition is one of the earliest cognitive skills developed by a child”, she says. “In our research group, we translate this primal curiosity into the world of cell biology by studying the geometry of complex membrane systems using a model based on plant plastids”, explains the researcher.
Her work focuses on periodic membranes, whose organisation plays a crucial role in cellular functioning – including plastid biogenesis and photosynthetic efficiency. Dr. Kowalewska’s team investigates how membrane structure influences biological function and which molecular and physicochemical mechanisms govern membrane transformations.
“We view the shapes formed by membranes – their nanomorphology – as one of the key, yet often overlooked, levels of cellular organisation”, she emphasises. The team develops and applies advanced microscopic, biophysical and computational methods, including machine learning–based tools that enable three-dimensional analyses of membrane nanomorphology.
Dr Kowalewska’s research makes a significant contribution to understanding the relationship between membrane geometry and function. The researcher has demonstrated that the spatial organisation of membranes is not merely the result of the self-assembly of their structural components, but also actively regulates cellular processes – marking a shift in the existing paradigm of cell biology.
While her studies are primarily fundamental in nature, understanding the principles of biological membrane self-organisation also holds significant application potential. It provides a foundation for the design of biomimetic nanomaterials that may be used in medicine, pharmacy and food technology – for instance, as drug carriers, materials supporting tissue regeneration or smart coatings.
The results of Dr Kowalewska’s research have been published in leading journals such as The Plant Cell, Plant Physiology, PNAS and Advanced Materials. She serves as Deputy Chair of the European research network COST European Curvature and Biology Network and is the principal investigator of three projects funded by the NCN.
Between the past, present and future
Professor Maciej Stolarski from the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Warsaw studies the phenomenon of mental time travel. He has provided empirical evidence for the crucial role of thinking beyond the present moment in shaping the quality and effectiveness of human life. His body of work – combining cognitive, personality and positive psychology – has had a significant impact on the development of research in the psychology of time.
The ability to mentally move between the past and the future is one of humanity’s most important evolutionary achievements, forming the basis for planning, decision-making, delaying gratification and reflecting on one’s life. “The ability for mental time travel, allows us not only to experience the present moment but also to relive the past and imagine the future”, says Prof. Stolarski. “Each temporal horizon offers unique possibilities: memories shape our identity, focus on the present enables mindfulness and savour life, while simulations of the future make planning possible and motivate us to act”.
The researcher studies the concept of a balanced time perspective – the ability to flexibly shift between the past, present and future depending on the situation. “A balanced time perspective means that we can, at the right moment, draw on memories, focus on the here and now, or look ahead to the future. It is precisely this flexibility that determines our well-being”, he explains.
The researcher has developed an index of deviation from a balanced time perspective, which has become a key reference point for studies conducted worldwide. He also examines how individual differences in time perception influence emotions, relationships and performance – including in sports. In recent years, he has combined his scientific work with his passion for ultramarathon running, demonstrating that future-oriented thinking supports regular training, perseverance and improved results.
“The NCN Award is, for me, a testament to the meaning and value of my work, as well as a source of motivation to keep moving forward. I am currently working on a theoretical synthesis of my research to date and on developing my own coherent theoretical framework”, emphasises Prof. Stolarski.
The researcher was the recipient of a scholarship from the Minister of Science and Higher Education for early-career researchers and a START fellowship from the Foundation for Polish Science. In 2021, he received the Polityka Science Award in the social sciences category. He currently leads, or has previously led, three research projects funded by the NCN.
A foundation for creating new materials
Dr hab. Bartosz Szyszko, Professor at the University of Wrocław, specialises in supramolecular chemistry. “Chemists usually study molecules connected through classical covalent or ionic bonds, whereas I wanted to explore chemical topology”, he says. “At the core of this field are systems that form a whole through a non-obvious interlinking of their components”.
Prof. Szyszko’s team focuses on the synthesis and investigation of rotaxanes, catenanes and molecular knots – mechanically interlocked molecules that resemble the links of a chain. Such systems exhibit entirely different properties, dynamics and reactivity compared with compounds known from classical chemistry. The achievements of his group include the development of new methods for constructing structures with nontrivial topology, including approaches that use metal ion clusters as structural templates. The researchers have also discovered a new type of molecular motion in rotaxanes, which they have termed “fluttering.” The group’s work on flexible molecular knots and links, published in Angewandte Chemie, was highlighted in Nature Synthesis.
“The NCN Award is, to me, a sign that even in a world where scientists are expected to deliver immediate results, faster processes, cheaper production and greater profits, there is still room for something different – for research driven purely by curiosity”, emphasises Prof. Szyszko. “Understanding the behaviour of individually mechanically interlocked molecules, gaining greater control over their dynamics, and explaining why they undergo specific reactions in one way rather than another brings us closer to the stage of their practical application in the design of advanced, intelligent materials and nanomachines – whose potential uses we may not yet be able to fully imagine”, he adds.
Rotaxanes are already being used for the controlled release of active substances within the body and for the production of gel-based materials capable of changing their volume in response to external stimuli – applications that are finding use, among others, in soft robotics. The researcher’s work may provide the foundation for the development of new functional materials and nanoscale devices, such as chemical sensors, substance carriers, nanomachine components or intelligent catalysts.
Professor Szyszko belongs to the so-called “NCN Generation”, a group of scientists whose academic careers have evolved in close connection with the NCN initiatives. He won a PRELUDIUM call addressed to PhD students in its very first edition. To date, he has led or continues to lead a total of five NCN-funded projects.
Among his distinctions are the Włodzimierz Kołos Award of the Polish Academy of Sciences, the Iuvenes Wratislaviae distinction, the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education scholarship for early-career researchers and the START fellowship of the Foundation for Polish Science. He publishes in leading chemistry journals such as Angewandte Chemie, Journal of the American Chemical Society and Nature Communications. He is also a member of the Polish Young Academy.
Media patronage
