NCN Award winner in Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Dr hab. Marcin Szwed, Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University
Scientific achievement: Large-scale research on the plasticity of the human brain in people with impaired eyesight and hearing, disproving some long-standing theses on the division of the brain into separate sense-related parts
It was believed that the brain is divided into separate parts, each processing information from a separate sense. The research conducted by dr hab. Marcin Szwed and his team question this theory, contributing to a change in our understanding of the way the human brain works. This discovery was made thanks to a series of experiments in which people with normal eyesight learnt to read Braille. Although the activity draws on the sense of touch, it was found that during months of learning, changes in the brain were taking place not in the sensory but in the visual cortex. Thus dr Szwed’s team proved that a healthy adult’s brain can to some extent reorganise itself. The results of the research have been published in prestigious scientific journals and enjoyed considerable interest from both scientific circles and popular media at home and abroad.
“Twenty years ago, I challenged a friend to a bet that, by 2016, brain science will have explained the nature of sleep, the reasons why people and animals dream, the way in which dreams form, and the purpose they serve, if any. We wagered 1000 dollars. I lost. Thanks to the NCN award, I won’t have to take out a loan to pay him. I am grateful for this, because it reassures me that it’s possible to return to Poland and do good science here. The award is also a tip of the hat to the team of fantastic people I have had the pleasure to work with.”
NCN Award winner in Life Sciences
Dr hab. Katarzyna Starowicz-Bubak, Maj Institute of Pharmacology Polish Academy of Sciences
Scientific achievement: determining the role of the endocannabinoid system in the development and therapy of chronic pain; developing a new pharmacological approach to the therapy of osteoarthrits-related pain
Dr hab. Katarzyna Starowicz-Bubak develops new strategies of treating chronic pain. The chief goal of her research is to increase the effectiveness of neuropathic and osteoarthritis-related pain treatment by homing in on the endocannabinoid system. The researcher’s important achievements include describing a new, complex mechanism of body-generated anandamide in neuropathic pain. A better understanding of the interactions between cannabinoid and vanilloid receptors during the disease allowed for identifying urea piperazine derivatives as the substances showing higher therapeutic effectiveness and a more favourable profile than currently used compounds, which target selectively the one receptor system. Dr hab. Starowicz-Bubak and her team’s results may contribute to improving the effectiveness of analgesic treatment in patients diagnosed with chronic pain syndromes.
“I see the NCN Award as a great honour, satisfaction and distinction. It reassures me that certain decisions I have taken in my life were correct. It also attests to the importance of my research on effective pain treatments. It is a recognition of what I have achieved thus far, but also a source of motivation to continue working on new therapies to increase drug effectiveness in patients with chronic pain syndromes. It is also an opportunity for me to express my heartfelt thanks to all those who have supported me along the way and inspired my passion for science, serving as my best role models. They are wise, ambitious people with a great love for science, who have assisted me in my research. However, this is also an award for my near and dear ones. You can only go so far alone; if you want to be able to reconcile your passion for research with family life, you need the support of your family.”
NCN Award winner in Physical Sciences and Engineering
Prof. Dr hab. Mikołaj Bojańczyk, University of Warsaw
Scientific achievement: Achievement: outstanding contribution to automata theory and logic
Prof. Mikołaj Bojańczyk in his work in the field of theoretical computer science, logic and automata theory has solved several well-known open problems, and developed a general method allowing for translating problems of automata theory into algebra. In his most important works, he has compared the computational powers of different computational models, e.g. the variants of tree automata and formalisms interpretable in tree structures.
“I feel honoured to receive the NCN award. I take it as a token of recognition for the broader research community working in the field of computer science in Poland. To me, the field is one of the greatest strengths of Polish science; our computer scientists may easily cooperate and compete with those from the best centres around the world.”
