In the field of pharmacy, the 1st place went to Rafal Kielkiewicz, the 2nd place to Mateusz Jędrzejewski, and the 3rd place to Maciej Obrębski. In the medical analytics field of study, 1st place went to Michalina Lulek, 2nd place to Katarzyna Poreda, and 3rd place to Adam Szeleszczuk. Audience awards were given to Hanna Polewacz and Katarzyna Poreda. Anna Kierasińska was also honored for preparing a paper of practical dimension and importance to the industry.
About the Master Thesis Competition of the Faculty of Pharmacy
The competition is indeed a long-standing tradition. This year was already the 60th edition of the struggle for the pharmacy field of study and the 14th for the medical analytics field of study. As the organizers emphasize, the purpose of the competition is primarily to promote talented graduates. Faculty Dean Piotr Luliński, PharmD, PhD, is convinced that the master theses performed by our students contribute to the deepening of their knowledge and the acquisition of additional skills, which they can later use in their professional work. It is also an opportunity to show how great the faculty's research potential is.
Ceremonial opening of the competition finals
The finals were held on March 15. It was attended not only by the authors of the final works, but also by their fellow graduates, students, representatives of the faculty’s departments, business representatives as well as chamber of diagnosticians and chamber of pharmacists.
- I would like to wish all participants victory. I know that this is not possible, but remember that your participation in the finals is already a huge success for you, and for this I congratulate you immensely - said Rector of MUW Professor Zbigniew Gaciong and added: - Appreciation and huge congratulations are also due to your supervisors and the departments where you carried out your work. This is your joint success, because as we know - in medicine and pharmaceutical sciences, success is the result of teamwork.
Professor Urszula Demkow, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Health, also conveyed congratulations to the finalists.
- I am proud that in addition to your achievements in your professional work, you also achieve scientific successes: you prepare, publish and present excellent works, which we are about to witness - the deputy minister said - I wish you all the best on your way. The work is not easy, but no one said it would be easy. It is a challenge, but also a vocation.
Prof. Grażyna Sygitowicz, Secretary of the Polish Society of Laboratory Diagnosticians, also spoke and Prof. Olga Ciepiela, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy, assured the participants of the finals that they were in for a huge intellectual feast.
Winners of the competition
The topics of the works undertaken were very diverse, including addressing issues relevant to the problems of modern medicine, such as complications after SARS-CoV-2 infection.
- Perhaps one of them will find its way into clinical practice and the person who is one of the authors will turn out to be the discoverer of a new drug - said Prof. Zbigniew Gaciong.
Based on the sum of the scores from the poster session and the paper session, the competition jury, with the help of members of the organizing committee, selected six winners to take the top spot on the podium.
In the field of pharmacy, the winners were:
- 1st place Rafal Kiełkiewicz for his paper entitled "Development of an efficient method of Aralia spinosa L. plant regeneration using somatic embryogenesis in in vitro culture, evaluation of somaclonal variability of regenerants and phytochemical profile of the obtained plant material."
- 2nd place Mateusz Jędrzejewski for the paper "Application of molecular dynamics simulation methods and QM calculations in the analysis of the catalytic mechanism of the LAMT protein."
- 3rd place Maciej Obrębski for his paper entitled "Culture of transformed roots of Aralia spinosa L., optimization of culture conditions and evaluation of phytochemical profile"
In the field of medical analytics, the winners were:
- 1st place Michalina Lulek for her paper entitled "Evaluation of distant nervous system complications in patients after COVID-19"
- 2nd place Katarzyna Poreda for her paper entitled "Isolation and evaluation of potential pathogenicity of free-living amoebae from environmental soil samples from the Warsaw area"
- 3rd place Adam Szeleszczuk for his paper entitled "Phenotypic and genotypic analysis of pyrazinamide-resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis"
There was also an Audience Award, based on electronic votes cast by the audience of the paper session. It was awarded to: Hanna Polewacz for her paper entitled "Immune regulation in chronic obstructive Pulmonary disease-associated lung carcinoma" (10th place in the finals) from pharmacy, and Katarzyna Poreda from medical analytics.
In addition, an honorable mention from INFARMA went to Anna Kierasińska for her paper entitled "Evaluation of selected aspects of the quality of adulterated medicinal products used in the treatment of thyroid diseases" (5th place in the final of medical analytics papers).
The other finalists
From the field of pharmacy, the winners were:
- Jakub Mielniczek with a paper entitled "Evaluation of the action profile of the ofloxacin and its photodegradation products using the MARA multi-parameter bacterial assay for risk assessment" (4th place).
- Anna Kierasińska for her paper entitled "Evaluation of selected aspects of the quality of adulterated medicinal products used in the treatment of thyroid diseases" (5th place).
- Emilia Pykacz with a paper entitled "Synthesis of dibenzo[b,e]azepine, dibenzo[b,f]oxazepine and pyrido[2,3 b][1,4]benzodiazepine derivatives - novel PEX14-PEX5 inhibitors with potential antiparasitic activity" (6th place).
- Aleksandra Michalak with a paper entitled "Study of the effect of thyme herb extracts and fractions on wound healing and human skin fibroblast activity" (7th place)
- Marta Komoń with a paper entitled "Comparison of preparations containing Cistus L. for the content of polyphenolic compounds and potential anti-inflammatory activity" (8th place).
- Karolina Borkowska with a paper entitled "Biodegradable poly (ether-ester-carbonates) as injectable,hydrogel carriers of paclitaxel" (9th place).
- Hanna Polewacz for her paper entitled "Immune regulation in chronic obstructive Pulmonary disease-associated lung carcinoma" (10th place).
From the field of medical analytics major, the winners were:
- Emilia Kruk with a paper entitled "Renal remodeling in mice with metabolic syndrome" (4th place).
- Victoria Klus with a paper entitled "Effect of extracellular neutrophil networks on the process of differentiation of monocytes into macrophages" (5th place).
- Agata Skwarek with a paper entitled "Assessment of renal function in patients after COVID-19" (6th place).
- Kinga Ogrodzińska with a paper entitled "Effects of levetiracetam on action potentials and sodium currents in prefrontal cortex pyramidal neurons" (7th place).
- Magda Molenda with a paper entitled "Evaluation of immunological parameters in suicidal people based on gene expression analysis in the frontal lobe of the brain using real-time PCR reactions" (8th place).
- Marcin Jaworski with a paper entitled "Analysis of the results of drug susceptibility determinations of Helicobacter pylori strains isolated from gastric mucosal sections and optimization of methods of culture and isolation of Helicobacter pylori DNA" (9th place).
Lecture on flozins
Just before the announcement of the results, participants in the finals had the opportunity to listen to a lecture by Aleksandra Gąsecka-van der Pol, MD, PhD, on flozins and their role in cardiology, nephrology and diabetology.
- I encourage you to study, among other things, these drugs, because there is great potential in them, including publication potential - said the speaker - Perhaps one of your works will prove to be a breakthrough and from this competition a huge clinical trial will be made, which will create another indication for us to treat patients.
The Master's Thesis Competition at the Faculty of Pharmacy is organized by the Student Government in cooperation with the university and departmental authorities. This year's final was hosted by students: Sabina Sobolewska and Adam Paderewski. The event was held under the honorary patronage of the Rector of the MUW and the Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy MUW.
All winners received prizes donated by the Medical University of Warsaw. Prizes for the winners were also funded by UPS Health, the Association of Innovative Pharmaceutical Companies INFARMA, the District Pharmacy Chamber in Warsaw, and the National Chamber of Laboratory Diagnosticians. In-kind prizes for the Winners and Finalists of the Competition were sponsored by Rettenmaier Company, Dr Irena Eris Company, Warsaw Branch of the Polish Pharmaceutical Society, Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Ministry of Health, Randox Poland, Diasorin Poland, Euroimmun Poland, Sysmex Poland. Refreshments and hot and cold drinks for Finalists, Jurors and guests of the competition finals were sponsored by: MUW, Sarstedt Company, Polfa Tarchomin Company. Personalized internships in companies and participation in conferences for the winners were funded by: USP Health Company, Polfa Tarchomin Company, PTDL Warsaw Branch.
