History

The beginnings and establishment of the Department

The Department of Cell Biology and Imaging, formerly (until 1.04.2011) the Department of Cytology and Histology, was established in the 1950s. The establishment of the Department was initiated by Prof. Zygmunt Grodziński, then Head of the Department of Comparative Anatomy. His idea was to establish a Department of Cytophysiology at the Department. The head of the Department became, in 1955, Doc. Andrzej Pigoń. Ten years later, the Jagiellonian University reorganised its scientific and didactic units and the Department of Cytophysiology was granted full autonomy, its premises and administrative autonomy in the newly constructed building of the Institute of Zoology located at 6 Ingarden Street in Cracow (currently the Institute of Psychology of the Faculty of Philosophy of the Jagiellonian University). After the departure of the head of the Department, Doc. Andrzej Pigoń to the USA in 1966, the Department was dissolved, as a result of which the Faculty of Biology and Earth Sciences did not have a research unit focused on research and teaching of animal cell biology.

Research staff and research development

The first attempts to fill the resulting teaching and research gap appeared with the creation of the Electron Microscopy Laboratory and the Scanning Microscopy Laboratory of Biological and Geological Sciences under the direction of Prof. Dr. Wincenty Kilarski, who took over lectures and exercises in cytology and histology. In 1986, the Department of Cytology and Histology was formally established on the basis of the personnel and assets of the above-mentioned laboratories, and Prof. Kilarski took over the management of the Department. Since then, the Department has been enriched with several electron microscopes, and modern apparatus which has enabled research at the cellular level and, to some extent, also at the molecular level. In turn, the Laboratory of Scanning Microscopy in Biological and Geological Sciences became an integral part of the Department, being at the same time a faculty laboratory.
The main research directions of the Department under Prof. Kilarski's leadership were: ultrastructure of vertebrate muscles, morphological organisation of vertebrate egg yolk plates, membrane surface structure of amphibian oocytes, fish heart muscle, and in 1990-2001 analysis of the dynamics of gap junctions in human uteri and some rodents. From 2001 to 2024, Prof. Dr. Elżbieta Pyza took over the management of the Department. In addition to the continuation of previously conducted scientific topics, Prof. Pyza initiated research in the Department on the nervous system of vertebrates and invertebrates, especially studies of synaptic and neuronal plasticity and ecotoxicological studies, which she still conducts today.

Significant influences in the development of the research topics and teaching offer of the Department were also:
Prof. UJ, Dr. Janusz Karasinski, who in 1981 became a member of Prof. Kilarski's team, then still part of the Department of Comparative Anatomy, and after the formal establishment of the Department of Cytology and Histology, an employee of this Department. Between 1991 and 1994 Prof. Karasinski completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at the Department of Anatomy, Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School, London UK, where he worked in a research project led by Dr. Diana J. Watt and Prof. Marjorie A. England. This work resulted, among other things, in the acquisition of a state-of-the-art laminar chamber and a CO2 incubator for the culture of animal cells for the Department, as a gift from the above-mentioned, which made it possible to carry out cell cultures in the Department, which were still quite rare in Poland at the time, due, among other things, to limitations in the availability of professional equipment ensuring sterile culture conditions. As a result, the research experience gained by Prof. Karasiński and the equipment he acquired contributed to the development of research in the Department on the heterogeneity of satellite cell populations in skeletal muscle and their significance in the process of myogenesis, the role of gap junctions in the myometrium, the biology of stem cells in the endometrium of the uterus, and a new teaching offer for students of Biology at the Jagiellonian University. These research topics and related teaching activities are still being developed in the Department today.

In 1989, at the request of Prof. Kilarski, Prof. UJ, Dr. Marek Romek was employed in the Department, due to his physical education and the title of Master of Medical Physics of the UJ. Prof. Romek completed two short scientific internships in the Czech Republic (School of Stereology of the European Stereological Society) and in Sweden (Stockholm University). Prof. Romek's acquired experience in the physical foundations and principles of stereology, electron diffraction, electron and microscopic analyses of the para-crystalline structures of the yolk plate are still used today in the Department's research and teaching offerings.

Also at the request of Prof. Kilarski, Prof. UJ, Dr. Grzegorz Tylko, was employed in the Department in 2001. Prof. Tylko completed 2 research internships at iThemba LABS (Laboratories on Accelerator Based Sciences; National Accelerator Center) in Faure, South Africa. At that time, he built the world's first cryogenic chamber for elemental analyses of hydrated materials using the PIXE (Proton-Induced X-Ray Emission) method. He was also generally involved in the immobilisation of elements by cryogenic methods in biological materials. The knowledge and experience gained by Prof. Only in the preparation and observation of cells and tissues at low temperatures and in elemental analyses (i.e. freeze-fracture, -substitution, -drying), are still used today in the Department's research and teaching offerings and are used for optical, electron and X-ray microscopy, analyses by infrared, Raman, X-ray fluorescence and other spectroscopic methods.
In 2006, Dr Jolanta Górska-Andrzejak and Prof Anna Maria Osyczka joined the staff of the Department.

Between 1999 and 2003, Dr. Gorska completed 4 research and teaching internships at the Institute of Neurobiology, Department of Psychology, Dalhousie University (Halifax, Canada), in the laboratory of Prof. Ian Meinertzhagen. During the above-mentioned internships, Dr. Gorska used transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and confocal microscopy, as well as transgenic Drosophila melanogaster strains to induce a targeted change in gene expression (Gal4/UAS system). After returning from her internships, she contributed to the development of circadian plasticity studies in the Department on the D. melanogaster model based on confocal microscopy and Gal4 and UAS transgenic strains. Also, as part of the above-mentioned internships, Dr. Gorska gave a lecture on ‘Developmental Neuroscience’ and a laboratory exercise on ‘Neuroscience laboratory II’ to students at Dalhousie University. Since 2003, Dr. Gorska has been giving the above-mentioned lecture. for students majoring in Biology at the Jagiellonian University, and since 2010 also as a compulsory course for third-year students majoring in Neurobiology at the Jagiellonian University.
Between 1999 and 2006, Prof. Osyczka completed a 2-year research internship at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, USA in the team of Prof. Rocky S. Tuan (Dept. Orthopedic Research), followed by a 5-year research and teaching internship at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia USA in the team of Prof. Phoebe S. Leboy (Dept. Biochemistry, Dental School). Both of Prof. Osyczka's postdoctoral fellowships, as well as her earlier postdoctoral fellowship (1996-1998) at the Tokyo Medical and Dental University in Japan (now the Institute of Science Tokyo), were related to the biology of bone marrow stem cells, their potential for bone and cartilage formation, their response to implant materials, tissue engineering, and the molecular mechanisms of bone formation processes and bone morphogenetic proteins. Meanwhile, Dr. Osyczek's teaching internship at U. Penn. included a series of lectures and seminars in biochemistry for dental students at U. Penn. All of these topics are still continued and developed today in the Department, as well as implemented into the teaching offerings for UJ Biology and Neuroscience students. In addition, by obtaining an NIH (Institute of Aging) grant while still at U. Penn. USA, Prof. Osyczka, together with her employment in 2006, donated to the Department many pieces of equipment previously used for the above-mentioned project in the USA, such as a PCR apparatus, apparatus for protein and RNA/DNA electrophoresis, electrophoretic gel analyses and many smaller pieces of equipment useful in molecular research. Much of this equipment is still used for research work in the Department. From 1 October 2024, Prof Osyczka took over the management of the Department of Cell Biology and Imaging.

The youngest employee, in terms of length of employment in the Department, is currently Dr Milena Damulewicz. Doc. Damulewicz has completed 2 research internships (2016 and 2020r) at Dept. Biology, Padova University, Italy, under the supervision of Dr. Gabriella Mazzotta, one research internship (2017r) at Dept. Toxicology, Leicester University, UK, under the supervision of Prof. Ezio Rosato and one research internship at Dept. Molecular Neurobiology, Conicet Argentina, under the supervision of Dr. Fernando Ceriani. During the above-mentioned internships, Doc. Damulewicz carried out research on the interaction of cryptochrome with other neuronal plasticity proteins based on, among others, the yeast two-hybrid system, the role of cryptochrome in clock regulation based on new D. melanogaster transgenic lines and other techniques for studying clock neuronal plasticity. Following the employment of Doc. Damulewicz in the Department in 2020, the experience gained in the above-mentioned research centres allowed her to develop new research topics (study of cryptochrome interactions with other proteins) and methodologies (techniques for studying clock neuron plasticity, preparation of D. melanogaster transgenic lines, methods for studying neuropeptide functions) in the Department. Doc. Damulewicz also introduced a new course to the teaching offer for Neurobiology students (i.e. ‘D. melanogaster as a model in neurobiological research’ as well as partially modified classes in the course “Instrumental analysis in neurobiological research”).

Non-teaching staff

Currently, the positions of Independent Biologist (Non-Didactic Employee) in the Department are: Dr. Olga Barczyk-Woźnicka, Mgr. Elżbieta Chwastek and Dr. Jakub Dymek.

Dr. Olga Barczyk-Woźnicka's master's thesis entitled. “Electronomicroscopic analysis of Cu-TiO2 composites” was defended in 1999 in the Department of Structure and Mechanics of Solids of the Faculty of Non-ferrous Metals of the AGH University of Science and Technology in Cracow under the supervision of Prof. Ludwik Blaz, PhD. His doctoral thesis entitled. “Analysis of the process of heterogeneous precipitation in AL-Cu alloys depending on thermo-mechanical processing conditions” was defended in 2004, also under the supervision of Prof. Ludwik Blaz from the Department of the aforementioned University. Since January 2008, Dr. Olga Barczyk-Woznicka has been employed by the Department of Cell Biology and Imaging, and her main duties include supervising work using transmission electron microscopy. Since 2004, she has published scientific papers with other authors in scientific journals of international scope.

Elzbieta Chwastek, MA, defended her master's thesis entitled. “Influence of heavy metals and nutrients on microbial parameters of soils of pine stands” was defended in 2009 in the Department of Ecotoxicology and Ecology of Stress (now the Terrestrial Ecosystems and Ecotoxicology Team) of the Institute of Environmental Sciences, under the supervision of Prof. Maria Niklinska. Since January 2010, Elzbieta Chwastek, M.D., has been employed in the Department of Cell Biology and Imaging, and her main responsibilities include supervising the culture of D. melanogaster and work using confocal microscopy. Since 2017, she has published scientific papers with other Authors in scientific journals of international scope.

Dr. Jakub Dymek defended his master's thesis entitled. “Anatomical structure of the female reproductive system of the legless amphibian Typhlonectes natans” was defended in 2015 under the supervision of Prof. Artur Osikowski, PhD, at the Department of Comparative Anatomy, IZiBB, WB, UJ. His dissertation entitled. “Morphological variation of the olfactory organ in selected representatives of Chondrichthyes and Osteichthyes” was defended with distinction in 2021 under the supervision of Prof. UJ, Dr. Krystyna Zuwała and assistant supervisor Dr. Michal Kuciel from the Department of Comparative Anatomy, IZiBB, WB; As of September 2020. Dr. Jakub Dymek is employed in the Department of Cell Biology and Imaging, and his main responsibilities include taking care of the work using the scanning electron microscope and adjacent to the SEM laboratory - the cytology and histology laboratory (cryostat and other peripheral equipment necessary for SEM work). Since 2023, he has published scientific papers with other Authors in scientific journals of international scope.

Previous non-teaching staff employed in the Department in positions of Independent Biologist included: Alicja Goerlich, M.D. (proper spelling Gőrlich; 1986-2016) and , Ewa Krzystofowicz, M.D. (1989-2008). Alicja Goerlich, MA, who supervised, among other things, work on protein analysis (spectrophotometry, electrophoresis, Western blot) and D. melanogaster culture. Her master's thesis entitled. “Determination of the activity of selected enzymes in the plasma of persons with juvenile diabetes mellitus”, prepared under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Maria Sarnecka-Keller, was defended in 1979. She is the author and co-author of scientific publications published in international journals in 2005-2015, as well as popular science publications in “Universe” (2013, 2016).

Ewa Krzysztofowicz, M.D. (1989-2008) defended her master's thesis entitled. "Number and distribution of Malpighiani glomeruli in the kidney of stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus L.) in 1978 under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Wincenty Kilarski. This work was later published in Acta Biologica Cracoviensia, Series Zoologia in 1982. Mgr. Krzystofowicz's responsibilities included preparation of slides for TEM and operation of TEM, ultrastructural analysis of various types of vertebrate cells and tissues with special emphasis on bone marrow and blood cells of mammals and humans. She specialized in histological, histo- and cytochemical methods and enzymatic methods used in light and electron microscopy. She has authored and co-authored scientific publications published in international journals between 2001 and 2019.

In memory of Prof. Wincenty Kilarski

On February 21, 2025, our Master - Prof. Wincenty Kilarski - passed away. We bid him farewell on March 18, 2025 with a reflective ceremony in the Farewell Hall of the Rakowicki Cemetery in Cracow. The history of the establishment of the Department, its first Employees, etc., as described by Prof. Kilarski, can be found HERE.