My principal research interests involve several aspect of skin endocrinology, with the stress on skin pathologies and their treatment. I am particularly interested in synthesis and metabolism of vitamin D and potential use of vitamin D derivatives in treatment of civilization diseases including cancer. My team investigates anticancer activity of several vitamin D analogues on melanoma model, and recently introduced in our lab osteosarcoma and colorectal cancer cell models. Second main project covers role of neuropeptides and hormones in skin physiology and pathogenesis and crosstalk amongst keratinocytes, melanocytes and mast cells. The studies in my laboratory are sponsored by MNiSW (vitamin D and mastocytosis projects) and PTGen (grant for BIOMOL biotechnology student`s group) and are conducted in collaboration with local and international scientists.

Research interests:
- role of NK cells in immunoageing;
- capability of NK cells for immunological response in the elderly;
- modulation of immunological response in the process of ageing;
- influence of the level of oxidative stress on immunological response in ageing process.

Research interests:
Changes of hormonal and neurohormonal reactivity in aging rats subjected to fasting/refeeding treatment.

The expression of inflammatory cytokine IL-33 and cytokines: RANKL, OPG, sclerotin involved in regulation of calcium homeostasis in patients with colitis ulcerosa.

She has been working for many years on biologic and molecular characterization of different cells populations, especially stem cells and dendritic cells. She has just finished project concerning characterization of dendritic cells derived in vitro from two types of precursors: monocytes of human peripheral blood and CD34+ progenitors of human cord blood. Nowadays she starts new studies concerning cancer stem cells of colorectal cancer. This project will be focused on evaluating the effectiveness of colorectal cancer therapy with the use of in vitro modified dendritic cells.

The role of TNF/TNFR superfamily members in co-stimulation of T cells and the characterization of Fas-induced mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis in colon carcinoma.

Piotr Wierzbicki has been working on analysis of putative tumor suppressor genes in tissue samples of colorectal cancer and inflammatory bowel disease. Scientist’s workshop on comprehensive gene expression analysis at mRNA and protein level includes qPCR, western blot and immunocytochemistry techniques. Epigenetic factors are also studied, such as LOH and hypermethylation of promoter’s region, frequently involved in genes’ in/activation .

The aim of my PhD studies is to measure the level of sirtuin 1 and sirtuin 7 in lipogenic tissues of young and old rats. Sirtuins comprise a family of regulatory proteins whose activity may counteract the effects of ageing. I perform my studies on rats undergoing short-term fasting and refeeding, or 30-day calorie restriction, which in itself has been shown to postpone ageing in rodents. In lipogenic tissues collected from these animals I evaluate the levels of sirtuins (both gene expression and protein synthesis) in the context of disorders of energy metabolism associated with ageing.