Dr Sonia Trojan from the JU MC Chair in Medical Biochemistry has received a prestigious scholarship from The Kosciuszko Foundation and will carry out a six month postdoctoral internship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, one of the best higher education institutions in the world. The internship will begin on 1 August 2023.
‘The ability to work in a Prof. Matthew Vander Heiden's team is a great honour and more than what I dreamed of. To be able to carry out research projects in such a prestigious environment and work with people whose publications formed the base of my entire scientific knowledge of the metabolism of cancer cells is a great opportunity for personal growth. I hope I'll be able to learn many new techniques, gain a broader perspective and improve my skills as part of an international team. After I return, I’d like to share my knowledge with my colleagues to repay them for their support on the road to my PhD. Naturally, this internship wouldn’t be possible without my friends and family as well as The Kosciuszko Foundation, an organisation with a great history and tradition. It’s an honour to be counted amongst the recipients of its scholarship’, said Dr Sonia Trojan.
Dr Sonia Trojan is a graduate of the JU MC Faculty of Medicine. During her studies, she received the JU Rector’s scholarship for the best doctoral students three times. She successfully defended her PhD thesis in 2022. The thesis itself, written under the supervision of Prof. Piotr Laidler and Dr Kinga Kocemba-Pilarczyk, was entitled ‘The role of cancer-specific isoenzymes of phosphofructokinase II in the progression of malignant melanoma including the role of low-oxygen environment of tumor development’.
Dr Trojan already took part in three foreign internships in Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in Paris, Centre Biophysique Moléculaire in Orleans and in Université de Lorraine/CNRS in Nancy. She supervised four research projects, three of which were funded by grants for young scientists and one by the National Science Centre. She delivered presentations during 27 conferences, most of them international. In 2021/2022, she represented the Faculty of Medicine at the International Medical Postgraduate Conference at Charles University in Prague. She co-authored 12 publications with an IF equal to 38.323.
Currently, Dr Sonia Trojan is working in the JU MC Chair in Medical Biology, where she carries out a project funded by the National Science Centre entitled ‘The role of cancer-specific isoenzymes of PFK-II (PFKFB3 and PFKFB4) in breaking down resistance to BRAF inhibitors in malignant melanoma therapy’. Her scientific activity is mostly focused on the project, making use of techniques from the area of molecular biology, biochemistry and bioinformatics. In her spare time, she is active in the Federation of the European Biochemical Societies and Polish Biochemical Society.
