Albuquerque, NM – September 20, 2011 For a few weeks this fall, STC will expand its internship program to include researchers from the Poznan University of Medical Sciences in Poznan, Poland. The four scientists are currently visiting STC from September 12 through October 5 to learn about the University of New Mexico’s technology transfer program at STC. The interns will meet with staff, faculty and entrepreneurs, and attend educational seminars and conferences to learn about the organization’s operations and the process of commercializing university technology.
This international internship project is the result of a collaboration between the ProRegio Foundation in Poznan and STC.UNM. The Foundation is a non-governmental organization formed in 2004 to support and promote the technology transfer process among Poland’s universities, research institutions and business community. The Foundation provides training programs in technology transfer to interested organizations and is covering all costs associated with the interns’ visit to STC.
Poznan University of Medical Sciences is a leading medical school in Poland with a student population of 8,200, focusing on education, research and clinical care with ties to 6 clinical hospitals. The University conducts joint research and participates in international programs with many foreign universities and institutions, and has a unique 4-year M.D. program conducted in English and based entirely on the American medical school model and a 6-year M.D. program conducted in English and based on the Polish/European medical school model.
Let us introduce you to our visiting interns:
Malgorzata Kikowska, M.S.
Malgorzata is a graduate student with an M.S. in Biology and a specialty in experimental biology. She is a teaching assistant in the Department of Pharmaceutical Botany and Plant Biotechnology at Poznan University of Medical Sciences (PUMS). Her current research involves the native species of Eryngium L. in in vitro cultures and its cytotoxic and proapoptotic effects on selected cancer cell lines. Contact: mkikowska@stc.unm.edu or Kikowska@ump.edu.pl.
Marta Szajnik, M.D., Ph.D.
Marta received her M.D. and Ph.D. in tumor immunology from Poznan University of Medical Sciences. She completed a 2-year postdoctoral fellowship in tumor immunology at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute in 2009 and is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Gynecologic Oncology at PUMS. Her research and clinical interests include gynecology oncology; regulatory T cells, tumor-derived exosomes, toll-like receptors expression on cancer cells; and immunotherapy for ovarian cancer. Contact: mszajnik@stc.unm.edu or martas@ump.edu.pl.
Michal Wincenty Luczak, M.S.
Michal holds an M.S. in molecular biology from the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan with postgraduate training at the Institute of Grasslands and Environmental Research in Aberystwyth, Wales. He is currently a research scientist in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at PUMS. Contact: mluczak@stc.unm.edu or mluc@ump.edu.pl.
Miroslaw J. Szczepanski, M.D., Ph.D.
Miroslaw received his M.D. and Ph.D. in immunology from Poznan University of Medical Sciences. He is currently a Senior Assistant Professor in the Department of Clinical Immunology at PUMS and is completing a residency program in otolaryngology and head and neck surgery. He completed a 3-year postdoctoral fellowship in immunology at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute in 2009. His research and clinical interests include toll-like receptors in laryngeal cancer, cancer stem cells in human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and CSPG4 as a biomarker of cancer stem cells and target for immunotherapy of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Contact: mszczepanski@stc.unm.edu or mszczep@ump.edu.pl.