Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences
The Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology is a Polish scientific research organization and a part of Polish Academy of Sciences headquartered in Warsaw, Poland. Founded in 1918, it is a leading institution in the country in the field of neurobiology, molecular biology, and biochemistry. About the Institute The Institute comprises laboratories and equipment for, amongst others, confocal microscopy, electron microscopy, scanning and flow cytometry, magnetic resonance imaging, electrophysiology, or transcranial magnetic stimulation. Currently, the Institute is home to 40 laboratories organised into 4 departments, as well as 6 core facility laboratories forming the Neurobiology Center established in 2013. The Institute's scientific teams conduct research in neurobiology, neurophysiology, and molecular biology. The experiments are interdisciplinary in character. The research concentrates on systems of varying complexity, from whole organisms through tissues, individual cells, cellular organelles to proteins and genes. The research topics often concentrate on determining signalling pathways whose disruption leads to the development of the disease. As of January 1, 2014, the Nencki Institute has once again become the owner of the Mikołajki Research Station [1]. The Station is the site of research in the areas of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem ecology and environmental monitoring. The Station/Institute is empowered to bestow PhD and DSc doctoral degrees. The laboratories of the Nencki Institute are organised into 4 separate Departments: Cell Biology, Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Neurobiology, and Neurophysiology. There are also 6 other laboratories that constitute the Neurobiology Center. The research conducted in the Departments of Neurophysiology and Molecular and Cell Neurobiology mainly deals with the cognitive functions of the Brain. The dominant theme is the plasticity of the nervous system under normal and pathological conditions. We study the effects of stroke and neurodegenerative diseases, epileptogenesis and the consequences of re-innervation, as well as emotional disturbances in humans. The research at the Department of Cell Biology is chiefly directed towards elucidating signalling cascades and regulatory mechanisms of gene expression involved in tumour transformation and the immune response, including the participation of membrane lipids in signal transfer by immunoreceptors, as well as the genetic regulation of cytoskeletal reorganisation. The Department of Biochemistry concentrates its research efforts on describing the molecular mechanisms of lipid-induced insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, the regulation of calcium-mediated signal pathways, kinesine functioning, the role of mitochondria in the maintenance of cellular homeostasis and the development of pathologies, as well as the elucidation of the structure and function of intracellular ion channels. The Neurobiology Center conducts interdisciplinary basic research (based on, for example, brain imaging, animal modeling, or bioinformatics) as well as research on novel diagnostic and therapeutic methods in relation to the nervous system. This work is conducted in collaboration with many Warsaw institutes and universities as part of the Innovative Economy Operational Programme the project entitled "Centre for Preclinical Research and Technology CEPT 2007-2013” - but also with research facilities around the world. Early history It was founded in 1918/19, shortly after the re-establishment of Poland as an independent country. It was based on three pre-existing laboratories