Adrian Zając

Dr. Adrian Zając is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Functional Anatomy and Cytobiology within the Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology at Maria Curie-Skłodowska University (UMCS) in Lublin, Poland. His academic career focuses on cancer biology, particularly the investigation of molecular mechanisms involved in programmed cell death in glioma cells.

Dr. Zając received his PhD in 2020 with a dissertation titled "Temozolomide and inhibitors of pathways dependent on the TrkB receptor in the induction of programmed death of human glioma cells in vitro." His research expertise spans cell biology techniques including morphological identification of cell death types, cell migration assays, immunocytochemistry, cell cultures, light, fluorescent and electron microscopy, and flow cytometry. He also possesses extensive skills in molecular biology methods such as protein and nucleic acid electrophoresis, immunoblotting, immunoprecipitation, and gene expression silencing using siRNA.

Dr. Zając's research primarily investigates the impact of natural compounds and their synthetic derivatives on inhibiting intracellular survival pathways and inducing programmed cell death in human tumor cells. His work focuses on analyzing molecular mechanisms of elimination of transformed cells through apoptosis and autophagy, with particular emphasis on brain tumors. He has made significant contributions to understanding signaling pathways regulating migration, invasion, and metastasis of brain tumor cells, as well as the correlations between proteins regulating apoptosis and autophagy in glioma cells.

His recent publication portfolio demonstrates a strong focus on glioma research, with particular attention to the PI3K-Akt/PKB-mTOR and Ras-Raf-MEK-ERK intracellular survival pathways. Dr. Zając frequently investigates natural compounds such as furanocoumarins, osthole, and plant extracts for their potential to enhance conventional anticancer therapies. His work bridges plant biochemistry with cancer therapeutics, exploring how natural substances can sensitize glioma cells to programmed cell death.

• 2014 - Scholarship of the Minister of Science and Higher Education for outstanding achievements
• 2018 - Prof. Bolesław Skarżyński Award for the best article in Postępy Biochemii
• 2021 - Rector's Award for a highly scored scientific article
• 2022 - Rector's Award for a highly scored scientific article

Dr. Zając has successfully led research projects, including the 2021 project "Evaluation of the involvement of the Bcl-2 and beclin-1 protein complex in the elimination of glioma cells through programmed cell death" (PB-X-11-532-21) funded by the National Science Centre under the MINIATURA 5 program. Beyond his research, he actively participates in scientific community building as Secretary of the Lublin Branch of the Polish Biochemical Society and as a member of the Federation of European Biochemical Societies. His commitment to education is evident through his organization of numerous conferences, participation in Open Doors events, Biology Night, and Lublin Science Festival, as well as conducting educational workshops for schools.