Maciej Zylicz PhD

Professor Maciej Zylicz was born in 1953 in Gdansk. Studied experimental physics and biology at the University of Gdańsk. In 1980 he completed his doctorate in biochemistry, in 1986 he was awarded his habilitation degree in molecular biology, and in 1992 he was made professor. In 1980-1999 he worked at the University of Gdańsk, where he was vice-rector for science (1990-1993). In 1993-1994 he was a visiting professor at the Institute of Oncology of the University of Utah. In 1999-2016 he was head of the Molecular Biology Department of the International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw.

Among Prof. Żylicz’s interests are the molecular biology of heat shock proteins. He isolated the first heat shock proteins and recognised their role in DNA replication. With colleagues, he has demonstrated that these proteins are also involved in the protection of proteins of other types, dissociation of oligomers and protein aggregates, and proteolysis. Since 2000, he has been investigating the role of heat shock proteins in cell transformation, showing that tumour suppressor protein p53 requires heat shock proteins to work, and that the MDM2 oncogene possesses activity of a chaperone protein. The author of almost 90 scientific works cited in global literature (over 6000 citations), he has supervised 15 doctorates in Poland, while six of his closest colleagues (doctoral and habilitation candidates) have been appointed as professors.