PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Dr. Marco Deiana completed his PhD in materials engineering at Wrocław University of Science and Technology (WUST) in January 2018 under the guidance of Prof. Katarzyna Matczyszyn. Following the defense of his doctoral thesis, Dr. Deiana pursued postdoctoral studies from June 2018 to September 2023, conducting research at both the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT, USA) in the Department of Chemistry and Umeå University (Sweden) in the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics.

During his tenure in Sweden, Dr. Deiana received esteemed postdoctoral funding, including the "Excellence by Choice” fellowship guided by Nobel Laureate Professor Emmanuelle Charpentier. Additionally, he secured a highly prestigious postdoctoral grant from the Swedish Cancer Society.

Since October 2023, Dr. Deiana has held the position of Assistant Professor at the Institute of Advanced Materials at WUST. His research, supported by co-funding from the National Science Centre and the European Union's Horizon 2020 under the POLONEZ BIS 3 program, aims to map the folding landscapes of DNA G-quadruplexes in hypoxic cancer cells. Furthermore, the objective is to develop innovative (photo)-therapeutic anticancer modalities capable of simultaneously inhibiting HIF-1α expression, with the goal of enhancing the selectivity and efficacy of photodynamic therapy specifically targeting hypoxic tumors.

TEAM MEMBERS

Katarzyna Matczyszyn (supervisor) is a physical chemist and Wroclaw University of Science and Technology professor. Prior to her position in Poland she worked at CEA Saclay, Ecole Normale Superieure de Cachan and Université Pierre et Marie Curie in France. Her major scientific interest falls into light-matter interactions, especially on biologically significant materials. She works with photoactive molecules (mostly photochromes), various types of nanoparticles (including plasmonic and carbon nanodots), lyotropic liquid crystals and in the field of nonlinear optics. She is particularly keen on novel approaches to photodynamic therapy.

Karolina Saczuk is a PhD Student in Chemical Sciences at the Wrocław University of Science and Technology, working under the supervision of Prof. Katarzyna Matczyszyn and Dr Marco Deiana. She completed her Master’s degree in Chemistry and Materials Science and holds two Bachelor’s degrees in Chemical Technology and Chemical and Process Engineering. Before applying for PhD, she worked in automotive and food industries. Experience obtained during her studies, regarding the examination of the impact of nonlinear optical processes on the efficiency of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy, will prove beneficial to the project.  Her research interests are photodynamic therapy, polarization microscopy and nanotechnology.