University of Gdańsk

Understanding mechanisms of action of small proteins and peptides in biological systems. As a part of a large international (Poland, South Korea, USA, Argentina, France, Sweden) informal research group we participate in a project to develop what is called a coarse-grained (simplified) model of polypeptide chain called UNRES (UNited RESidues). (www.unres.pl)

Search and study of short peptide sequences having a defined spatial structure and showing the ability to catalyze chemical reactions.

Dr Mariusz Grinholc, Assistant Professor at Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology at University of Gdansk and Medical University of Gdansk in Poland. Was born on 16 June 1980. In the years 1995 - 1999 attended the Salesian High School, and then took up studies at the Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology, which graduated with honors in 2004.

The broad aim of the Quantum Cybersecurity and Communication Group is to develop quantum solutions for problems in communication and information security.
 
Specific goals include the development of:
– Quantum key distribution protocols with low hardware requirements.
– Quantum true random number generators.
– Existing and new quantum cryptographic primitives.
– Methods for secure communication and computation.
– Formal security proofs of quantum cryptographic protocols.
– Tools for cryptoanalysis.

Our research is mostly focused on the development of new antimicrobial approaches to address the issue of bacterial infections in agriculture, as well as problem of multi-drug resistance in human and veterinary medicine. Currently we concentrate on the three major research areas:

1. Nanomaterials for treatment and prevention of infectious diseases.

Our research focuses on understanding the plant-bacteria interaction in the plant rhizosphere. Our goal is to understand the molecular mechanisms i) involved in plant-bacteria interactions, including adhesion and biofilm formation; ii) determining antimicrobial activity of the plant associated-bacteria. We are interested in bacterial cell-to-cell communication (quorum sensing, QS).

The Mass Spectrometry Laboratory has been appointed at the Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology of UG-MUG within the framework of the Mobi4Health project (full title of the project: CENTER OF MOLECULAR BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR HEALTHY LIFE: Biotech solutions bringing health to living organisms and environment supported by mass spec-focused research platform).

Genomic and phenomic-oriented studies on soft rot Pectobacteriaceae (especially Dickeya solani and Pectobacterium parmentieri) aiming for revealing molecular mechanisms responsible for their virulence or reevaluation of their taxonomy.

The group New Quantum Resources and Quantum Thermodynamics deals with a broad spectrum of topics, related to such resources as nonlocality/contextuality, entanglement, randomness, random quantum circuits and others.
 
Specific research tasks of the group include:

The main objectives of our research are to describe the mechanisms of action of a wide variety of toxic substances, to search for protective compounds and to reveal their mechanisms of action, to develop new effective methods to modulate the activity of drugs with particular emphasis on drugs used in anticancer therapy and antibiotics.