In the latest QS World University Rankings 2021, UW has been named as the world’s 321st best university. The 17th edition of the ranking has seen the university rise 28 places year-on-year.
According to the latest edition of the world’s leading university ranking, QS World University Rankings, published by global higher education consultancy QS Quacquarelli Symonds, the University of Warsaw occupied 321st place in the world, 141st in Europe and 1st in Poland.
To compile the ranking of the world’s top 1000 universities, QS analysts used six indicators: academic reputation, employer reputation, citations per faculty, faculty/student ratio, international faculty ratio, and international student ratio.
On 10th June, the Regional Contact Point of the EU Research Programmes at UW organises an online information meeting on MSCA Individual Fellowships and Widening Fellowships under Horizon 2020 programme.
The online meeting is intended for experienced researchers interested in applying for the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual or Widening Fellowships with the University of Warsaw as the host institution.
The meeting will be held in English on the Google Meet platform on 10th June at 10:00-14:00.
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships and Widening Fellowships support the most promising researchers worldwide. Researchers need to hold a doctoral degree or have at least four years’ full-time research experience by the call deadline.
“I hope that the inauguration of the next academic year will take place on 1st October in a traditional form that we are all familiar with,” says Prof. Marcin Pałys in a video in which he sums up recent weeks of the UW operations.
In the video, Prof. Marcin Pałys enumerates several initiatives which UW undertook in order to adapt to the epidemiological situation. Among them are remote assessments and exams, degree examinations, including doctoral degrees, or rescheduled admissions to the university.
The UW rector stresses that we need to be prepared to continue remote education in the next academic year as epidemiological circumstances may change.
“We need to be ready, in case the epidemiological circumstances deteriorate, to move classes back online as we did in March.”
He also expresses his gratitude to all members of the UW community for their contribution which ensures the university functioning in the pandemic times.
In June and July, just like in the last few months, students and doctoral candidates of the University of Warsaw will pay less for their accommodation in residence halls. According to the rector’s order as of 3rd June 2020, accommodation fee will be reduced by 50%.
In response to the situation caused by the coronavirus, people living in residence halls will benefit from a one-time 50% reduction in accommodation fees in June and July. They also paid less in April and May.
The reduction is introduced by the rector’s order no 107 of 3rd June 2020. The document enumerates those who benefit from the reduction, namely students, doctoral candidates, postgraduate students of the School of Education of the Polish-American Freedom Foundation and the University of Warsaw, and participants of the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange.
Project Manager – prof. Karol Grela (Head of Organometallic Synthesis Laboratory, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Warsaw) is looking for candidates to work in a scientific project: „Unorthodox concepts in olefin metathesis”, programme Maestro supported by National Science Centre positions: PhD student (1). Deadline for applications: 9 June 2020. For more info see >> pdf
On 29th May, the UW rector issued a document including technical information on defending doctoral dissertations in remote mode.
The defence of the doctoral dissertation is a public event. It is divided into two parts. First is open to other participants. In this time, the scientific achievements of a candidate applying for a doctoral degree, a summary of the doctoral dissertation and its reviews are presented. Afterwards, a public discussion begins where all participants of the meeting can ask questions.
The second part of the defence is attended only by members of the exam board. They adopt a resolution, being a result of secret voting, that call on a scientific council of the study discipline either to grant the doctoral candidate the doctoral degree or not.
The public part of defence is recorded as video and audio over Google Meet. If there is an appropriate contract or license, the head of the unit can apply to the rector and request to use another IT tool which needs to be accepted by the UW Data Protection Officer. Those who want to attend the public part are requested to register first as participants. The second part can be conducted over Chat in Google Meet or “Ankieter”.
Rules included in the order of the UW rector apply to doctoral examinations in proceedings aimed at awarding the doctoral degree, instituted by 30th April 2019, as well as examinations in the scientific discipline, in proceedings aimed at awarding the doctoral degree, instituted after 30th September 2019.
Drug repositioning strives at reusing existing drugs for new indications. It brings hope for the improved treatment of cancer patients by addressing the financial- and treatment-related toxicity of current cancer care.
The p53 and p73 belong to the p53 protein family and act as tumor suppressors. The Tp73 is expressed in two distinct isoforms: TA isoforms that function as tumor suppressors and ΔN isoforms recognized as oncogenes.
In drug repurposing approach, we showed that exo-protoporphyrin IX (PpIX), a metabolite of aminolevulinic acid (ALA), a pro-drug applied to treat actinic keratosis, activates p53 and TAp73 and induces apoptosis in cancer cells. Next, PpIX inhibits p53/MDM2 and TAp73/MDM2 and TAp73/MDMX interactions. PpIX stabilizes TAp73 on protein level in cells and in vivo (1,2). An analog of PpIX, verteporfin (benzoporphyrin derivative), a compound used to treat age-related macular degeneration, activates p73 and inhibits thioredoxin reductase (TrxR), an oncogene and a key player in the defense of cancers against oxidative damage (3). The findings have significant clinical relevance in that they may accelerate the repurposing of verteporfin and ALA/PpIX in oncology for improved therapy of cancers which bear Tp53 gene mutations.
References:
1. Sznarkowska, A.; Kostecka, A; Kawiak, A.; Acedo, P.; Lion, M.; Inga, A.; Zawacka-Pankau, J. Reactivation of TAp73 tumor suppressor by protoporphyrin IX, a metabolite of aminolevulinic acid, induces apoptosis in TP53-deficient cancer cells. Cell Division (2018) 13: 10.
2. Jiang LM, N.; Acedo, P.; Zawacka-Pankau, J. Protoporphyrin IX is a dual inhibitor of p53/MDM2 and p53/MDM4 interactions and induces apoptosis in B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells. Cell Death Discovery. 2019;77 (2019).
3. Acedo P, Fernandes, A., Zawacka-Pankau, J. Activation of TAp73 and inhibition of thioredoxin reductase for improved cancer therapy in TP53 mutant pancreatic tumors. Future Science OA, 2019, 5(2): FSO366. (2018).
Project Manager – prof. Karol Grela (Head of Organometallic Synthesis Laboratory, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Warsaw) is looking for candidates to work in a scientific project: „Unorthodox concepts in olefin metathesis”, programme Maestro supported by National Science Centre positions: Post-Doc (2) – Assistant in a group of research workers, operating in the field of exact and natural sciences. Deadline for applications: 17 July 2020. For more info see >> pdf
On 17th June, members of the Electoral College will elect the UW rector for the 2020-2024 term. On 21st May, the University Electoral Committee registered three candidates. On 25th May, the candidates presented their programmes and answered questions, during the online pre-election meeting with members of the UW academic community. One can watch the debate on the UW YouTube. The link is available below.
The University of Warsaw rector election will be held on 17th June.
On 21st May, the University Electoral Committee registered three candidates for that position:
During the meeting, the candidates for the UW rector presented their programmes and answered the selected questions. Every member of the UW community could ask one question and sent it within one application. Qestions were supposed to be formulated clearly and succinctly – so that it could take no more than two minutes to read it.
Prof. Ryszard Piotrowski, the chairman of the University Electoral Committee, who chaired the meeting, drew seven questions. Most of them concerned doctoral candidate matters.
