People
1. Group Leaders
dr hab. Wiktor Lewandowski
I completed my undergraduate studies at the University of Warsaw in 2008 with MSc degrees in Organic Chemistry (at the Faculty of Chemistry) and Biotechnology (at the Faculty of Biology). One year later I started my PhD research under the supervision of Prof. Mieczkowski at the University of Warsaw within an International PhD Programme. While pursuing PhD I spent few months at the laboratory of Prof. Swager, MIT, USA. After graduation I was employed at my mother university and spent one year at a postdoctoral stay with Prof. Luis Liz-Marzan, CICbiomaGUNE, Spain. Currently I am starting my own research group with the support by the Foundation for Polish Science under the First Team grant program. My research interests are focused on nanomaterials and self-assembly. Throughout my career I have learned to work with metal and semiconductor nanoparticles, liquid-crystals as well as graphene oxide (and related materials). Currently I focus on the development of dynamic nanomaterials for photonic applications.
wlewandowski@chem.uw.edu.pl
dr hab. Michał Wójcik
Michal Wójcik was born in 1983 in Radom, Poland. He received his MS and Ph.D. (summa cum laude) degrees from the University of Warsaw in 2007 and 2011, respectively, under the supervision of Professor J. Mieczkowski. From 2011 to 2013, he pursued postdoctoral research as an Foundation for Polish Science Fellow in the group of Professor E. Górecka. His research interests are centred on the synthesis and applications of organic-inorganic nanomaterials. Michał Wojcik was the manager of grants: 3 from the National Science Centre and 1 from the Nador Centre for Research and Development and a laureate of the Foundation for Polish Science. This year he obtained the degree of habibilitation.
mwojcik@chem.uw.edu.pl
dr hab. Joanna Wolska
In 2003 I graduated from the Faculty of Chemistry at the University of Warsaw and started my PhD studies under the supervision of Prof Józef Mieczkowski. I have been working at my Alma Mater since 2009. I did two international internships, including one with Prof. Daniel Guillon at the CNRS in Strasbourg. My interests focus on functional materials, in particular the design, synthesis and characterisation of liquid crystal compounds (mesogens, LC) and hybrid materials composed of metal nanoparticles and mesogens.
jokos@chem.uw.edu.pl
dr hab . Joanna Matraszek
In 2002 I obtained a PhD in chemistry doing research under the supervision of Prof. Mieczkowski at the University of Warsaw. As a Marie Curie Training fellow, I conducted research in Prof. Duncan Bruce's group at the University of Exeter. Since 2004 I have been working at my alma mater as an adjunct.
My research interests include organic functional materials, in particular liquid crystals. My research activities focus on the development of structures of mesogenic compounds, optimisation of their synthesis paths and characterisation of their physicochemical properties. At the core of my interests are chiral supramolecular structures, in particular those made by achiral molecules. In recent years I have also been working on materials
prof. dr hab. Józef Mieczkowski
Profesor emeritus
2. Assistants
dr Maciej Bagiński
I completed my undergraduate studies at the Faculty of Chemistry, University of Warsaw in 2015 with MSc degree in Organic Chemistry. In the same year I started PhD studies under the supervision of Prof. Wiktor Lewandowski. Over the next six years I focused on obtaining and structural characterization of actively controlled plasmonic nanomaterials based on Au nanoparticles and liquid crystalline compounds. As a part of a PhD studies I completed two abroad research internships: six-months in ColSysChem group (prof. Marek Grzelczak) and two-months in ionanoplasmonics group (prof. Luis Liz-Marzán). During PhD studies I successfully applied for two independent research projects: Preludium and Bekker scholarship. In 2023 I defended (with honors) PhD thesis entitled “Reconfigurable plasmonic nanomaterials based on rod-like and dimeric mesogens”. For four years I have been working on the Faculty of Chemistry University of Warsaw (between 2021-2023 as assistant and since 2023 as assistant professor). My research interests are focused on using organic compounds in nanoparticles self-assembly as well as using nanoparticles in construction of lateral flow assay tests.
mbaginski@chem.uw.edu.pl
dr Monika Góra
I completed my undergraduate studies at the University of Warsaw in 2010 with MSc degree in Organic Chemistry at the Faculty of Chemistry. In 2011 I started my PhD research under the supervision of Prof. Mieczkowski (University of Warsaw) and Prof. Małgorzata Zagórska (Warsaw University of Technology) within an International PhD Programme „Towards Advanced Functional Materials and Novel Devices – Joint UW and WUT International PhD Programme”. As a part of a doctoral project I spend 6 months at the laboratory of Carla Minarini, Enea, Portici, Italy. I also went on several short research trips to the laboratory of Prof. Guy Louarn, Nantes, France, Prof. Mieczysław Łapkowski Group at Silesian University of Technology and the Department of Molecular Physics, Łódź University of Technology. After graduation I worked three months in Prof. Bolesław Kozankiewicz Group at the Institute of Physics, PAS as a synthetic chemist. Since April, 2016 I have been working on the Faculty of Chemistry, University of Warsaw. My research interests are organic semiconductors, their characterization using different techniques (i. a. UV-Vis spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, photoluminescence) and their application in organic electronics (OLEDs, OFETs, OPVCs). In addition do scientific research I have classess with students (i.a. The Synthesis of The Biomolecules and Methods of Organic Compounds Identifiation B). I was the supervisor of two Bachelor’s Thesis and one Msc Thesis.
mgora@chem.uw.edu.pl
3. PhD Students
Piotr Szustakiewicz
M.Sc.
Piotr Szustakiewicz started his PhD studies at University of Warsaw, department of chemistry in 2017. He was principal investigator in "Diamentowy Grant" and "Preludium" projects. He also completed research internship in laboratory of Bionanoplasmonics at CIC biomaGUNE (San Sebastian, Spain) in prof. Luis Liz-Marzan group. He specialzies in obtaining novel organic-inorganic hybrid materials for optical applications, synthesis of plasmonic anisotropic nanoparticles as well as data analysis (including machine learning and image analysis techniques).
Agnieszka Jędrych
M.Sc.
I hold both a bachelor's and master's degree from the Faculty of Physics at the University of Warsaw. In 2018, I began my PhD studies at the Faculty of Chemistry. My research focuses on the development of advanced multiresponsive hybrid materials. These materials are based on inorganic nanoparticles, such as gold and iron oxide, which self-assemble within a light-sensitive liquid crystal matrix. Their multiresponsiveness is finely tuned through external stimuli, including temperature changes and UV light exposure. I am currently working on materials capable of altering their structure and properties under the influence of magnetic fields. Additionally, I am exploring the surface functionalization of gold nanoparticles with cap analogs to create advanced carriers for the targeted delivery of 5' mRNA analogs.
Natalia Kowalska
M.Sc.
I hold a bachelor's degree in Nanostructure Engineering from the Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw, and a master's degree in Chemistry from the Faculty of Chemistry, University of Warsaw. In 2020, I began my PhD studies at the Faculty of Chemistry, University of Warsaw. During my academic journey, I completed an internship with Prof. Marek Grzelczak's group at the Centro de Física de Materiales (San Sebastian, Spain), where I ained valuable experience in the synthesis of anisotropic gold nanoparticles. My current research interests include optimizing the synthesis of anisotropic and chiral gold nanoparticles, tailoring their organic shells, and applying them in ELISA diagnostic tests and chiral bioassays for mRNA detection.
Mateusz Pawlak
M.Sc.
I completed my undergraduate studies in 2021, defending a Master's thesis in Chemistry under the supervision of Prof. Wiktor Lewandowski and a Master's thesis in Physics under the supervision of Prof. Jacek Szczytko. I began my PhD studies in 2021 within the Preludium BIS project titled "Responsive Hierarchic Nanocomposites for Chiral Plasmonics (REOPEN)." During my PhD studies, I participated in several short research stays abroad. I visited Prof. Guido Clever at the Technical University of Dortmund, Prof. Luis Liz-Marzán at the University of Vigo, and Prof. Agustín Mihi at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. My research interests lie at the intersection of nanotechnology, optics, and organic chemistry. I focus on fabricating organic and plasmonic materials that exhibit strong circular dichroism and circularly polarized luminescence. My areas of expertise include Mueller matrix polarimetry, chiroptical properties of thin films, organic chemistry, and light-matter interactions.
Filip Bandalewicz
M.Sc.
I graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Nanoengineering from the Faculty of Physics at the University of Warsaw in 2021. In 2023, I completed my Master's in Physical Chemistry at the Faculty of Chemistry, also at the University of Warsaw, with both dissertations supervised by Prof. Wiktor Lewandowski. That same year, I began my PhD studies at the Doctoral School of Exact and Natural Sciences at the University of Warsaw. During the early stages of my PhD, I participated in several international research stays, including at the Yamamoto-Imaoka group at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, and in laboratories such as Prof. Matthias Karg's group in Düsseldorf, Germany, and the Diamond Light Source in Oxford, UK. My graduate research focused on the synthesis of gold nanoparticles with chiral morphology, with publications covering topics such as non-polar solvent compatibility, liquid crystal nanocomposites, and synthetic chiral induction compounds. Currently, my research is centered on three areas: 1) self-assembly of chiral nanoparticles using surface polymerization, SiO₂ condensation, and liquid crystals, 2) synthesis of chiral gold nanoparticles, and 3) photothermal therapy and lateral flow assays (LFA). In addition to my research, I use Blender software to create 3D models for figures in our publications and to design and 3D-print custom apparatus for experimental use.
