Department of Cancer Genetics - Institute of Human Genetics Polish Academy of Sciences

About Publications Research projects Collaborations Awards

Our scientific interests concentrate on cancer genetics and the genetics of the senses. We use various techniques in our routine practice, from molecular biology and cytogenetics (microarrays, NGS, pyrosequencing, FISH and FICTION) supplemented by functional analyses. The aim of the research is the identification of genomic and epigenomic alterations that contribute to the development of neoplasms and diseases of the sensory organs. To that end, we work closely with renowned Polish and foreign scientific groups.

Keywords:

Featured publications

HPV driven oncogenesis – much more than the E6 and E7 oncoproteins.

Janiszewska J, Kostrzewska-Poczekaj M, Wierzbicka M, Brenner JC, Giefing M

J Appl. Genetics, 2025 Feb (1), 66 (1): 63-71,doi.10.1007/s13353-024-00883-y, Epub 2024 June 24

IF-2.0 MNiSW-140

A genome-wide scan of non-coding RNAs and enhancers for refractive error and myopia.

Tedja MS, Swierkowska-Janc J, Enthoven CA, Meester-Smoor MA, Hysi PG, Felix JF, Cowan CS; CREAM Consortium; Cherry TJ, van der Spek PJ, Ghanbari M, Erkeland SJ, Barakat TS, Klaver CCW, Verhoeven VJM

Hum Genet, 2025 Jan;144 (1):67-91. doi: 10.1007/s00439-024-02721-x. Epub 2025 Jan 8

IF-3.8 MNiSW-100

Gender issues in myopia: a changing paradigm in generations.

Enthoven CA., Haarman A E G., Świerkowska-Janc J, Tideman JWL., Polling JR, Raat H, Verhoeven VJM, Labrecque J, Klaver CW

Eur J Epidemiol, 2024 Dec;39 (12):1315-1324. doi: 10.1007/s10654-024-01163-z. Epub 2024 Dec 11

IF-7.7 MNiSW-140

Core regions in immunoglobulin heavy chain enhancers essential for survival of non-Hodgkin lymphoma cells are identified by a CRISPR interference screen.

Kasprzyk MA, Sura W, Podralska M, Kazimierska M, Seitz A, Łosiewski W, Woźniak T, Guikema JEJ, Diepstra A, Kluiver J, van den Berg A, Rozwadowska N, Dzikiewicz-Krawczyk A

Haematologica, 2024, 109, 12: 4007-4020; doi: 10.3324/haematol.2023.284672

IF-8.2 MNiSW-140

FISH and FICTION in Lymphoma Research.

Giefing M, Sawicz G, Siebert R

In: Lymphoma. Methods and Protocols. Third Edition. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol. 2865, doi.10.1007/978-1-0716-4188-0_9, Humana Press, 2025, ISBN 978-1-0716-4187-3, ed.: Rafl Kuppers.pp-1-493.

MNiSW-20

A rapid parallel increase in the incidence and mortality of head and neck cancer among the Polish elderly over the last two decades and upward trends until 2035.

Markowski J, Pietruszewska W, Mikaszewski B, Jurkiewicz D, Rogowski M, Maciejczyk A, Niemczyk K, Klatka J, Wierzbicka M

Otolaryngol Pol. 2024 Dec 11; 78 (6):39-47. doi: 10.5604/01.3001.0054.8131

IF-1.0 MNiSW-100

Long read sequencing identifies complex structural variant landscape and recurrent TERT rearrangements in mucoepidermoid carcinoma.

Gensterblum-Miller E, Bhangale A, Majid D Al, Pienkowski VM, Rydzanicz M, Janiszewska J, Kostrzewska-Poczekaj M, Chang C, Brummel C, Michmerhuizen NL,Wang J, Sandford E, Tewari M, Wierzbicka M, Birkeland AC, McHugh JB, Spector ME, Giefing M, Jarmuz-Szymczak M, Heft Neal ME, Brenner JC

Oral Oncology, 2024, Volume 159, doi: 10.1016/j.oraloncology.2024.107108

IF-4.0 MNiSW-140

Diagnostyka różnicowa brodawkowatego guza języka u 71-letniego pacjenta ostatecznie zdiagnozowanego jako rak płaskonabłonkowy brodawkowaty języka.

Frączkowska A, Brust K., Dmowska K, Wierzbicka M

Post Chirurgii Głowy i Szyi, 2024; 23 (46): 1–4, doi.10.5114/ahns.2024.144426

MNiSW-20

TYK2 protein expression and its potential as the tissue-based biomarker for the diagnosis of colorectal cancer.

Zadka Ł, Ustaszewski A, Glatzel-Plucińska N, Rusak A,, Łaczmańska I, Ratajczak-Wielgomas K, Kmiecik A, Piotrowska A, Haczkiewicz-Leśniak K, Gomułkiewicz A, Kostrzewska-Poczekaj M, Dzięgiel P

Cancers (MDPI) 2024 Oct 30, 16 (21(: 3665, 23 str., doi.org/10.3390/cancers16213665

IF-4.5 MNiSW-140

Role of Exosomes in Salivary Gland Tumors and Technological Advances in Their Assessment.

Nieszporek A, Wierzbicka M, Labedz N, Zajac W, Cybinska J, Gazinska P

Cancers (Base, MDPI). 2024 Sep 27;16 (19): 3298, 20 str., doi: 10.3390/cancers16193298.

IF-4.5 MNiSW-140

Featured research projects

1. Project OPUS

„Genome-wide mutation screen of the regulome in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.”

Duration: 2017-2020

2. Project PRELUDIUM

„Role of miR-299-5p in pathogenesis of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.”

Duration: 2017-2020

3. Project OPUS

“The expression analysis of genes and proteins potentially involved in lymph node metastasis formation in laryngeal cancer”

Duration: 2016-2019

4. Project HARMONIA

“Identification of miRNAs involved in classical Hodgkin lymphoma pathogenesis using combined expression and mutation profiling and functional analyses.”

Duration: 2015-2018

5. Project HARMONIA

“Whole exome sequencing in Polish patients with sporadic keratoconus and a pilot study of keratoconus proteomic and metabolomic profiles of tears.”

Duration: 2014-2017

6. Project PRELUDIUM

“Silencing and functional analysis of the CDK1 gene in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.”

Duration: 2014-2017

7.

8.

9.

10.

Collaborations

koum-poznan

Department of Otolaryngology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznań, Poland.

Department of Genetics and Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Poznań University of Medical Sciences, Poznań, Poland.

Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznań, Poland.

Department of Haematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznań, Poland.

iohg-cau-germany
Institute of Human Genetics, Christian Albrecht University, Kiel, Germany.

doh-oati-md-germany
Division of Haematology, Oncology and Tumour Immunology, Medical Department, Charité, Berlin, Germany.

iocb-ude-germany
Institute of Cell Biology (Tumour Research), University Duisburg-Essen, Germany.

siop-guf-germany
Senckenberg Institute of Pathology, Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany.

Department of Otorhinolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, University of Turku, Finland.

domahg-bcomh-tx-usa
Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine Houston, TX, USA.

Awards

Awarded:
dr n. med. i n. o zdr. Katarzyna Jaśkiewicz-Rajewicz
prof. dr hab. n. med. Marzena Gajęcka

II nagroda w konkursie na najlepszą publikację naukową z dziedziny diabetologii i chorób metabolicznych w 2023 r. im. Kazimierza Funka,

Given by: Nagroda Polskiego Towarzystwa Diabetologicznego.

Polskie Towarzystwo Diabetologiczne doceniło pracę współautorstwa prof. Marzeny Gajęckiej i dr Katarzyny Jaśkiewicz (Gajecka M*, Gutaj P*, Jaskiewicz K*, Rydzanicz M, Szczapa T, Kaminska D, Kosewski G, Przyslawski J, Ploski R, Wender-Ozegowska E. Effects of maternal type 1 diabetes and confounding factors on neonatal microbiomes. Diabetologia. 2024 Feb;67(2):312-326. doi: 10.1007/s00125-023-06047-7 ; *autorzy równorzędni).

Awarded: dr n. med. i n. o zdr. Katarzyna Jaśkiewicz-Rajewicz

Nagroda główna

Given by: Oddział PAN w Poznaniu

na najlepszą oryginalną pracę twórczą doktoranta w 2023 r.: Jaskiewicz K, Maleszka-Kurpiel M, Kabza M, Karolak JA, Gajecka M. Sequence variants contributing to dysregulated inflammatory responses across keratoconic cone surface in adolescent patients with keratoconus. Front Immunol. 2023 Jul 6;14:1197054. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1197054.

Awarded:

Given by:

Awarded: dr n. med. i n. o zdr. Joanna Świerkowska-Janc

Nagroda Polskiego Towarzystwa Genetyki Człowieka za najlepszą pracę doktorską z zakresu genetyki człowieka

Given by: Polskie Towarzystwo Genetyki Człowieka (PTGC)

Podczas XI Zjazdu Polskiego Towarzystwa Genetyki Człowieka w Bydgoszczy, dr n. med. i n. o zdr. Joanna Świerkowska otrzymała Nagrodę Polskiego Towarzystwa Genetyki Człowieka za najlepszą pracę doktorską z zakresu genetyki człowieka – stopień doktora nadany w latach 2018-2020. Tytuł nagrodzonej pracy doktorskiej: „Charakterystyka wybranych aspektów (epi)–genetycznych w wysokiej krótkowzroczności u polskich pacjentów”.

Awarded: mgr inż. Ewelina Kowal-Wiśniewska

Nagroda im. prof. Aleksandra Szczygła za pracę naukowo-badawczą opublikowaną w roku 2021

Given by: Polskie Towarzystwo Nauk Żywieniowych

za pracę naukowo-badawczą opublikowaną w roku 2021 z zakresu nauki o żywieniu człowieka: Alteration of the Early Development Environment by Maternal Diet and the Occurrence of Autistic-like Phenotypes in Rat Offspring.

Awarded: dr n. med. Julia Paczkowska

IX Edition of the Competition of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Poznan for the best scientific publication, which was published in 2020 and the lead author was a PhD student.

Given by: Polish Academy of Sciences in Poznan

Dr Julia Paczkowska – lauerate of the IX Edition of the Competition of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Poznan for the best scientific publication, which was published in 2020 and the lead author was a PhD student.

Awarded:
prof. dr hab. n. med. i n. o zdr. Maciej Giefing
dr hab. n. med. Małgorzata Jarmuż-Szymczak
dr hab. n. med. i n. o zdr. Katarzyna Kiwerska
dr n. med. Magdalena Kostrzewska-Poczekaj

Award of the Division of Medical Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences

Given by: Division of Medical Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences

for 5 publications concerning loss of tumor suppressor genes in squamous cell carcinoma

Awarded: dr n. med. i n. o zdr. Joanna Świerkowska-Janc

EMBO Short-term fellowship

Given by: EMBO

Joanna Świerkowska from the Department of Cancer Genetics received an EMBO short-term fellowship for the implementation of the project “The role of the noncoding miRNA and enhancers in high myopia” at Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Awarded: dr n. med. Magdalena Kostrzewska-Poczekaj

EMBO short-term fellowship