The Foundation of the Polish Promotional Emblem "Teraz Polska" has been awarding the titles of Promoter of Poland since 2017. Last year, in reference to this program, another award was introduced - Young Promoter of Poland. The Jury Board nominates one person each in three categories: sport, culture, science. The President's wife makes the final selection of the laureate.
This year the nomination in the science category went to Prof. Michał Grąt from the Chair and Department of General, Transplantation and Liver Surgery UCC MUW and the director of the MUW Doctoral School. The award ceremony took place during the 32nd "Teraz Polska" Gala. Prof. Grąt is an exceptional clinician, surgeon and scientist. He published his first scientific articles on liver resection and transplantation while still a student. The research that formed the basis of his doctoral dissertation, which he defended less than a year after graduation, allowed him to formulate new international eligibility criteria for liver transplantation, significantly expanding access to this form of treatment for thousands of patients. Prof. Grąt has designed and conducted numerous novel studies on the treatment and pathogenesis of liver cancer and cirrhosis. And he has published the results in the most prestigious journals. He demonstrated for the first time in the world a direct relationship between ischemia-reperfusion injury of the liver and the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence after surgery. He introduced in Poland a novel method of perfusion of harvested organs before liver transplantation based on hypothermia and oxygenation. He is the author of many pioneering surgeries and treatments for liver cancer and cirrhosis. He created from scratch a laparoscopic program of extensive liver surgery performed for oncological indications. But he is not only a world-class distinguished surgeon who has performed extensive liver surgeries, including transplants, but also an outstanding scientist - his scientific output exceeds 220 IF points. As one of only a few Polish surgeons in history, he published, as first author, in the most prestigious surgical journal in the world - Annals of Surgery. It is impossible to list here all the projects he has completed or the awards and honors he has received. And yet, Professor Grąt was born in 1987!
Apart from our scientist, the nomination was granted to: Anna Sułkowska-Migoń, conductor (in culture category) and Maria Andrejczyk, athlete, javelin thrower (in sport category). The winner was Maria Andrejczyk.
Photo by Kamil Broszko/Teraz Polska