Magdalena Pawełkowicz

Magdalena Pawełkowicz is a Professor and Vice-Dean at the Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW), leading the Department of Plant Genetics, Breeding, and Biotechnology. Her research focuses on plant genomics, particularly cucumber (Cucumis sativus), with emphasis on sex determination, disease resistance, and genomic structural variations. She has published 78 articles, supervised 32 theses, and contributed to major genomic projects like the cucumber genome assembly (B10 line). Her work integrates advanced techniques such as NGS, microRNA profiling, and bioinformatics tools like CuGene.

Research Interests

• Genetic basis of plant development and sex expression in cucurbits
• Molecular mechanisms of virus-host interactions
• Epigenetic regulation and somaclonal variation
• Climate change impacts on crop pathogens and genotypes
• Genome assembly and comparative genomics

Key Achievements

• Developed the CuGene genome browser for cucumber genomic data
• Advanced understanding of downy mildew resistance mechanisms
• Published influential work on histone modification roles in plant development
• Contributed to NGS-based studies of miRNA regulatory networks

Grants & Collaboration

Her work has been supported through multiple projects, including a focus on genomic tools for crop improvement. Collaborations include international teams studying plant-pathogen interactions and genomic structural variation analysis.

Labs/Teams

Leads a research group focused on genomic and molecular approaches in plant breeding, with active participation in the Institute of Biology at SGGW.