News

Distinction from the Committee of Animal Science and Aquaculture of the Polish Academy of Sciences

Scientific achievement of an interdisciplinary team of scientists with the participation of Prof. Jerzy Juśkiewicz and Prof. Zenon Zduńczyk received the Distinction of the Committee of Animal Sciences and Aquaculture of the Polish Academy of Sciences in 2021.

Achievement „Technologies for a significant reduction in the emission of greenhouse gases, nitrogen and phosphorus to the natural environment without a negative impact on the production results of poultry” was considered outstanding and marked with a high implementation potential.

Using the technologies developed by the Team in slaughter poultry production, it is possible to i.a. ensure efficient use the feed and obtain better results of rearing chickens for slaughter, as well as reduce environmental pollution while improving the yield and quality of meat.

Awarded team led by Prof. Damian Józefiak consists of 22 scientists representing 9 scientific and research units, incl. Department of Biological Functions of Food IAR&FR PAS, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences of the University of Life Sciences in Poznań, Department of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science of the National Research Institute in Balice and the Faculty of Animal Bioengineering of the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn.

Katarzyna Walendzik awarded FNP START scholarship

Katarzyna Walendzik, a PhD student in the Regenerative Biology Group, received a prestigious scholarship from the Foundation for Polish Science.

The START program of the Foundation for Polish Science is the oldest scholarship program in Poland for the best young scientists from all fields of science. It supports outstanding young researchers and encourages them to further scientific development. The competition assesses the quality of the candidates’ academic achievements to date.

The „100” of researchers awarded this year were selected from among 1,034 candidates.

The full list of START 2021 winners is available here.

Katarzyna Walendzik is a PhD student at the Department of Biological Functions of Food in the Regenerative Biology Group led by Prof. Barbara Gawrońska-Kozak. In the research carried out as part of her doctoral dissertation, she showed for the first time that the activity of the transcription factor Foxn1 regulates the diet-induced susceptibility to obesity and indicated the molecular basis for the involvement of Foxn1 in the adipogenic potential of skin cells.

Outstanding research results prompted her to further investigate this topic and prepare her own research project entitled „The role of the epidermal transcription factor Foxn1 in the modulation and regulation of intradermal fat cells (dWAT)”, which received funding from the National Science Center in the Preludium 16 competition.

Katarzyna Walendzik is the co-author of 8 publications and 14 conference presentations presented at congresses in Europe and the USA, and a graduate of two international internships at Tulane University School of Medicine, USA and Genome Editing Core, Biocity, Turku, Finland.

The award received by Ms Katarzyna Walendzik is all the more significant since, as mentioned by the FNP awarding Committee, „this year the candidates represented a very high academic level”.

Recruitment to the Interdisciplinary Doctoral School of Agricultural Sciences

EIT Food #FoodScienceClass

The Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Olsztyn is implementing the international project #FoodScienceClass, powered by EIT Food. A total number of 300 students from Israel, Poland, Belgium and Finland take part in the second edition of the project. Poland will be represented by two classes from the XII High School in Olsztyn, named after Maria and George Dietrich, and two classes from the Primary School in Dywity, named after Maria Zientara-Malewska.

Students will take part in a series of activities that will familiarize them with topics of production, processing and food safety, as well as responsible consumer attitudes. As part of the project, students will have a unique opportunity to play the role of young researchers and – under the guidance of mentors, scientists of the IARFR PAS in Olsztyn – examine the eating habits of their peers. However, EIT Food #FoodScienceClass is not just a theory! Educational workshops on rational food management and reducing food waste are planned for September, which will take place at the Social Forge of the Food Bank in Olsztyn, one of the project partners. Students will also get to know the Institute laboratories and meet with a representative of a regional food company. The culmination of educational activities will be the development and implementation of an educational campaign, as well as the exchange of experiences and materials with other partner classes. All activities are planned taking into account the current possibilities – some activities take place online, some stationary, respecting the safety rules.

The overriding goal of the EIT Food #FoodScienceClass project is to arouse students’ curiosity about food, a topic that would seem very trivial, but the WHO data leaves no illusions. In 2019, we already had over 38 million overweight or obese children in Europe, in the group under the age of 5. Together with scientists, we are trying to show that it is worth knowing more about what is on our plate, as well as making conscious dietary choices at the stage of completing the shopping cart – says Justyna Banasiak, EIT Food #FoodScienceClass coordinator on behalf of the Institute.

The #FoodScienceClass project is funded by EIT Food, which works towards a sustainable, healthy and trustworthy food system. The project partners are: TECHNION (Israel), IARFR PAS in Olsztyn, Food Bank in Olsztyn, EUFIC (Belgium), VTT (Finland) and Rikolto (Belgium).

For more information, please contact the EIT Food #FoodScienceClass coordinator on behalf of the Institute, Justyna Banasiak (j.banasiak@pan.olsztyn.pl).

Institute wins grants of the National Center for Science

Scientists from our Institute received funding for implementation of research projects submitted in the National Center for Science contests: OPUS 20, SONATA 16, PRELUDIUM BIS 2.
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SCIENCE SOS – let’s talk about food!

Let’s talk about food. Join the #AnnualFoodAgenda “Science SOS” action and engage with food researchers to answer all your questions about healthy nutrition.

Can our diet have an impact on the health of our grandchildren? Why is it worth to choose fish from controlled environments? How to handle food to avoid microbiological cross-contamination? What should we do when we have symptoms of gluten intolerance? Institute of Animal Reproduction an Food Research PAS invites teachers, tutors and organisers of food-related events to book online visits of food scientists and let their audience learn about healthy eating habits. #AnnualFoodAgenda “Science SOS” offers meetings with microbiologists, food technologists, biotechnologist, ichtiologist and experts in molecular biology. We will talk about myths around the quality of fish from breeding tanks and take a closer look at sugars naturally present in fruits and vegetables. The consumers will also discover why food producers reach for ancient crops, and why we should not eliminate gluten from our diet without medical consultation. We will get an insight into the bacteria causing food poisoning and look at biofilm forming our e.g. our teeth. The topics available include also nutritional programming, the pro-health properties of raspberries and controversies around meat in our diet.

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5th Symposium: Perspectives in the protection of biodiversity

Eugenol and Spermidine new allies against SARS-CoV-2 in 2021

The SPIN nutritional supplement combining spermidine and eugenol may prove to have a potential antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses. Almost 400 nutrition specialists have received a specific training to incorporate them into clinical practice. As part of the EIT´s Crisis Response Initiative, this activity directly contributes to the European Union´s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. (więcej…)

Researchers’ Night with EIT Food

On 27th of November we will celebrate the European Researchers’ Night for the 15th time! On this occasion, researchers from the Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Olsztyn will conduct a series of 15 online lectures for schoolchildren. The lectures prepared within the EIT Food #AnnualFoodAgenda project will address the most interesting topics in the area of food, nutrition and health. (więcej…)

Connecting the dots: the complexity of food systems

Food systems are complex, and we can all play a part in ensuring that they are resilient and sustainable. The many pieces that form the food system jigsaw puzzle can fit together as easily as they can break apart, and it is up to us to ensure they remain connected. This video illustrates this complexity and suggests way that people can cooperate to ensure that growing populations are fed in harmony with the environment.
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