The Minister of Science and Higher Education, Marcin Kulasek, has awarded scholarships to 230 young researchers in recognition of their significant scientific achievements. The recipients represent 54 scientific and artistic disciplines. Among the awardees are three researchers from our university: Aleksandra Kruk, Ph.D. Eng., Joanna Ostrowska, Ph.D, and Kajetan Grodecki, MD, PhD.
The Minister of Science and Higher Education, Marcin Kulasek, has awarded scholarships to 230 young researchers in recognition of their significant scientific achievements. The recipients represent 54 scientific and artistic disciplines. Among the awardees are three researchers from our university: Aleksandra Kruk, Ph.D. Eng., Joanna Ostrowska, Ph.D, and Kajetan Grodecki, MD, PhD.
Significant achievements in the young researcher’s academic work included, among others: leading a highly innovative research project funded under a national or international competition, a practical application of research or experimental development results, and completing a research stay lasting at least three months at a prestigious foreign institution.
A total of 1,640 applications were submitted to the minister. The applications were evaluated on their scientific merit by an advisory panel.
Who are the WUM awardees?
- Aleksandra Kruk, PhD Eng. from the Department of Pharmaceutical Biology and the Microbiota Lab focuses, among other areas, on studying the biological activity of plant-derived raw materials and their metabolites produced through the action of the gut microbiota, with particular emphasis on their anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial effects, as well as their role in supporting epithelial barrier functions.She is the author of 35 articles published in journals indexed in the Journal Citation Reports (JCR) and a co-inventor of 6 granted patents. She has also been a three-time recipient of the WUM Rector’s Scholarship for the best young researchers. In addition, she has led projects funded by the National Science Centre, including MINIATURA, SONATINA, and SONATA grants.
- Joanna Ostrowska, PhD, from the Department of Clinical Dietetics focuses on lifestyle medicine, dietary prevention, and dietotherapy of cardiometabolic disorders, as well as the role of the gut microbiota in metabolic health.
She is the author of numerous scientific publications, textbook chapters, and conference contributions in this field. She completed a research stay in Vienna as part of the nutritionDay ESPEN project. She has led numerous research projects, including the Care4Diabetes (C4D) Joint Action project, carried out in cooperation with the National Health Fund (NFZ), co-funded by the EU and involving 12 participating countries. She is also engaged in expert work on the preparation of standards for dietary counselling within coordinated primary healthcare (POZ).
She serves as the European Federation of the Associations of Dietitians (EFAD) expert within the ESDN for Diabetes for the 2024–2028 term and is a member of the Diabetes Dietetics Section of the Polish Diabetes Association (PTD). Between 2022 and 2025, she was a member of
the Scientific Advisory Board of the EU-funded Health4EUkids project and since 2025 she has also served as an external evaluator of Horizon Europe proposals for the European Commission. - Kajetan Grodecki, MD, PhD, from the 1st Department and Clinic of Cardiology focuses, among others, on the use of artificial intelligence-assisted computed tomography in the diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases and in predicting outcomes of their invasive treatment, with particular consideration on transcatheter structural heart procedures.
During a research stay of more than four years at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (Los Angeles, USA), he developed innovative methods for the quantitative assessment of atherosclerotic plaque and aortic valve composition based on computed tomography. He has published the results of his research in some of the most prestigious medical journals, such as “The Lancet”, “Nature”, “Journal of the American College of Cardiology”, “European Heart Journal”, “Circulation, and Radiology”.
He has served as principal investigator and co-investigator in research projects funded by the National Science Centre, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, the Medical Research Agency, the Polish Cardiac Society, and the National Institutes of Health, with a total value exceeding PLN 30 million. In recognition of his scientific achievements, he has received, among others, the Minister of Health Scholarship, the START Scholarship awarded by the Foundation for Polish Science, an inclusion in the Forbes 25 Under 25 list, the Bekker Programme scholarship awarded by the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA), WUM Rector’s Awards, and scientific awards from the Association of Cardiovascular Interventions of the Polish Cardiac Society.