Academic teachers at medical universities were honoured for outstanding scientific, didactic, implementation and organisational achievements, as well as for their overall professional contribution. Among the awardees were representatives of the Medical University of Gdańsk: Prof. Maciej Grzybek from the Department of Tropical Parasitology, and Michał Penkowski, Ph.D. together with Piotr Boguś, Ph.D., D.Sc. from the Department Physics and Biophysics.
Today we recognise your many years of effort. You face the challenges of the teaching process and organisational responsibilities, but as medical staff you must also constantly update and deepen your knowledge. Thank you for your contribution to the development of Polish science, said Katarzyna Kęcka, Deputy Minister of Health.
Among the awardees were both individual researchers and research teams distinguished by exceptional achievements in their respective fields. Prizes were awarded in the categories of scientific activity, didactic activity, implementation activity, organisational activity, and lifetime achievement.
The individual award in the category of scientific activity, granted for a series of original publications on the detection and monitoring of pathogens with zoonotic potential, as well as on the diagnostics of tropical and infectious diseases, was received by Prof. Maciej Grzybek.
The individual scientific award of the Minister of Health is a distinction of particular, symbolic value to me, as I am not a physician. I am all the more pleased that the Ministry has recognised the importance of research conducted within the One Health framework. I firmly believe that concern for human health is inseparable from environmental protection, animal welfare, and an understanding of ecosystem processes. Without this perspective, it is impossible to effectively prevent diseases that increasingly move between human, animal and environmental domains, said Prof. Grzybek.
Prof. Grzybek’s research focuses on the detection and monitoring of emerging and re-emerging pathogens, including zoonotic, parasitic and tropical diseases. For years he has been developing biomonitoring of wild animals and disease vectors – from foxes and bats, through rodents, to domestic animals – an example of which was the identification of the cause of the unexplained wave of cat deaths in 2023. Such activities provide crucial epidemiological data and demonstrate that responsible public health decisions cannot be made without sound scientific evidence. Contemporary threats –“pathogen X”, climate change, population migration, environmental transformation – require anticipatory, interdisciplinary action.
The second pillar of my work is the diagnostics of tropical diseases. Climate change is causing pathogens previously known mainly from tropical regions to appear in areas where they had not been present before. We are already observing this phenomenon, and it will continue to intensify, especially in the context of global warming, migration and geopolitical instability. The Polish healthcare system must be prepared to face this challenge, the Laureate explains. This award is recognition not only for me, but for the entire team with whom I have the privilege to work. Without the commitment of colleagues, doctoral students and foreign partners, it would not be possible to pursue multidisciplinary projects that combine biology, medicine, ecology and public health, he adds.
The team award in the category of didactic activity for the Biophysics textbook, edited by Prof. Leszek Kubisz, covering biophysics, medical biophysics and medical physics, was granted to Michał Penkowski, Ph.D. and Dr hab. Piotr Boguś from the Department and Unit of Physics and Biophysics.
This textbook is a continuation of the flagship work ‘Biophysics’, edited by Feliks Jaroszyk in 2001. Around three years ago, Prof. Leszek Kubisz (Prof. Jaroszyk’s successor) decided to prepare a new biophysics textbook. In this volume, published by PZWL, chapters and thematic sections were written by academic teachers from medical universities who teach biophysics, including three members of our Department and Unit of Physics and Biophysics (among the co-authors is also Jerzy Nowak, Ph.D. who, however, could not be included in the award as he is now retired), said Piotr Boguś, Ph.D., D.Sc. For quite some time, there had been no new biophysics textbook available on the Polish market. The edition edited by Prof. Leszek Kubisz has filled a significant gap by providing a modern, research-informed study of biophysics topics, he added.
The laureates were selected based on applications submitted by rectors of medical universities and on the initiative of the Minister of Health. The evaluation of the applications was carried out by an expert panel composed of representatives of medical universities and the Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education.
Fot. Ministerstwo Zdrowia
