If you want to change the world for the better using contemporary scientific methods, the best place in Poland to do so is the Medical University of Gdańsk (MUG).

The MUG cooperates with many international scientific centers under inter-university and intergovernmental agreements, partnership initiatives, thematic networks, memberships in international organizations, exchanges of students and academic teachers, joint publications and the organization of numerous conferences and scientific symposia all around the world.

The University participates in numerous programs within which its students, scientists and employees may travel abroad in order to complete a part of their studies, internship and give lectures, do a research project or improve competences. Since 1998 the University has been actively participating in the Erasmus Program. Each year the number of the MUG students abroad as well as foreign students at the MUG increases.

The MUG is also involved in supporting initiatives for the development of technology transfer in medicine and biotechnology in the Baltic Sea area.

The scientific potential of the MUG is constituted by over a thousand academic employees and over 300 doctoral students, who are involved both individually and as team members in the implementation of national and international research projects, and are actively publishing in the national and international scientific circles. There are many winners of prestigious awards, members of scientific societies and advisory bodies among them. This potential was confirmed by the inclusion of the University in the prestigious group of ten Polish universities awarded in the Excellence Initiative – Research University competition initiated by the Ministry of Education and Science.

One of the research projects conducted at the MUG includes the diagnostics of urethral stricture disease and is handled by Mikołaj Frankiewicz, M.D., Ph.D. The research shows that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is essential for a more detailed diagnosis of the disease and, therefore, is implemented into contemporary urological guidelines. Dr Frankiewicz is now heavily involved in research aiming to improve surgery itself through the use of plated rich plasma. Multicentre trails on the application of the substance in urethral stricture disease will commence soon.

Another project carried out at the MUG, which might bring an important change in the fight against Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, involves Magdalena Bazgier M.D. and her team of fellow researchers led by Joanna Kwiatkowska, Ph.D., D.Sc. This research focuses on the efficacy and safety of Metoprolol in preventing cardiomyopathy in patients with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, which is a rare and serious genetic disorder characterised by progressive muscle degeneration and weakness.

Agastya Patel, M.D., the MUG’s doctoral student from India, attempts to validate an ultrasonography method of diagnosing vocal fold paralysis, which can occur after thyroid surgery, which is more beneficial than laryngoscopy examination. Further, it is also helpful for reducing patient burden.

Maksym Jopek, a bioinformatician from the MUG’s Division of Translational Oncology, is focused on artificial intelligence used in modern medicine. His research powtórzenie on the role of deep neural networks in processing massive amount of information generated by sequencing data and liquid biopsies’ analysis in the project aiming to develop a new method for early cancer detection.

Another young bioinformatician Elyas Mohammadi from Iran is pursuing his doctoral degree at the Medical University of Gdańsk conducting the innovative research on the human Alzheimer’s disease at one of the MUG’s top scientific centres, the International Research Agenda. His project involves the so-called spatial transcriptomic analysis and its role in understanding the biology behind this serious disease.

There are many more young scientists who conduct various world-changing researches at the MUG. You can follow them on: https://youngscientists.mug.edu.pl

If you would like to join the MUG and be part of the city of young scientists, follow: https://admission.mug.edu.pl  

This article was conceived as a part of the ‘Gdańsk – the city of young scientists’ project financed by the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange under the Welcome to Poland programme.