Laboratories B517-B520
Head
Dawid Walerych PhD Hab., phone: +48 22 60 86 641, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Research staff
Maria Grześ PhD, 22 608 66 41, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Magdalena Oroń PhD, 22 608 66 41, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Liudmyla Dolinchuk PhD, 22 608 66 41, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Marcin Grochowski MSc, 22 608 66 41, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
PhD students
Michał Jerzak, 22 608 66 41, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.,
Albert Gandurski 22 608 66 41, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Weronika Wojtyś MSc, 22 608 66 41, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Undergraduate students
Adrianna Porębska, 22 608 66 41
Research profile
• Understanding molecular processes leading to human diseases, by using molecular large-scale analyses.
• Molecular programs of driver oncogenes in human neoplasias (mutant TP53, K/H/N-RAS, EGFR, FGFR, PI3KCA, hyperactive C/N-MYC, CTNNB1, HSP90/HSP70/HSP4, the cellular proteasome machinery).
• Using functional and association methods to uncover functional mechanisms of molecular pathways driven by the oncogenes and possibilities of exploiting them therapeutically in pre-clinical drug tests in human cancer models.
• Establishing and running a biobank of patient-derived cancer organoids, tumor microenviroment, blood and primary tissues (primarily pancreatic, gastric, colon, breast cancers and sarcomas).
Selected grants
• “ Oncogene competition - a new interplay mechanism of mutant p53 with CMYC and mutant KRAS in human cancers.”, Opus NCN 2022/45/B/NZ5/04189, manager Dawid Walerych, 2023-2027
• „Identification and therapeutic targeting of the mRNA splicing alteration mechanisms driven by gain-of-function TP53 mutants in human cancers” – Sonata NCN 2021/43/D/NZ5/01955, manager Magdalena Oroń, 2022-2026
• “ Innovative platform of organoid modeling and therapy testing in human neurologic and oncologic diseases” – Medical Research Agency, KPOD.07.07-IW.07-0105/24, manager Dawid Walerych, 2025-2026
• „A platform for testing new combinations of anti-cancer drugs in pancreatic cancer organoid cultures from Polish patients” – Servier-Care/PTO/ Warsaw Innovation Hub Oncology Grant, manager Dawid Walerych, edition I and II: 2023-2026
• „Proteomic identification and therapeutic use of the proteasome machinery targets in human cancer”, Opus NCN 2017/25/B/NZ5/01343, manager Dawid Walerych, 2018-2021
• „Multi-onco-map: a multi-omic map of major oncogene function in cancer”, Sonata Bis NCN 2017/26/E/NZ5/00663, manager Dawid Walerych, 2018-2022
• „Identification of the proteasome machinery targets in human cancer”, Marie-Curie Individual Fellowship H2020/795441, Dawid Walerych, 2018-2020
Collaboration
domestic
• National Center of Oncology, Warsaw
• Warsaw Medical University, Warsaw
foreign
• Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Martinsired, Germany
• ICEGB institute and University of Trieste, Italy
Selected research equipment
• Diagenode contactless Sonicator set
• Biorad qPCR thermocycler
• Precision pippeting robot MANTIS
• Two GMMII-class tissue culture rooms – equipped with laminar chambers and CO2/N2 incubators
• Electronic cell counter Countess II
• Liquid nitrogen biobank with temperature monitoring
• -80oC freezer
Research methods
• Obtaining, analysis and overlap of multi-omics data (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics)
• Functional molecular in vitro research on oncogenes and molecular reprogramming of cancer cells – using genetics (e.g. CRISPR-Cas9), biochemistry and cell biology
• Research on phenotypes of cells undergoing genetic manipulation or drug treatment in vitro – viability, migration, invasion, 2D/3D colony formation, 3D growth, organotypic structure formation
• Establishing and analysis of cancer patient material bio-bank (tumors, healthy tissue margins, blood samples) for use in validation and association studies
• Establishing and use tumor-derived organoid cultures with tumor microenviroment (CAF and PBMC cells)
• Testing of anti-tumor therapeutic methods in vitro (cell lines, organoids) and in vivo (cell line- and organoid-derived xenografts).
Selected publications
• Grochowski M, Dolinchuk L, Jerzak M, Gandurski A, Grochowski T, Wojtyś W, Zadrożny M, Kaźmierczak W, Lenarcik M, Matejak-Górska M, Samsel R, Olesiński T, Walerych D.* Patient therapy outcome modeling in cancer organoids is improved by cancer-associated fibroblasts and organoid assembly convolution Mol. Oncology (FEBS) (2026) Jun 5.
• Grześ M, Jaiswar A, Grochowski M, Wojtyś W, Kaźmierczak W, Olesiński T, Lenarcik M, Nowak-Niezgoda M, Kołos M, Canarutto G, Piazza S, Wiśniewski JR, Walerych D.* A common druggable signature of oncogenic c-Myc, mutant KRAS and mutant p53 reveals functional redundancy and competition among oncogenes in cancer. Cell Death Dis. (2024) Aug 31;15(8):638.
• Oroń M, Grochowski M, Jaiswar A, Legierska J, Jastrzębski K, Nowak-Niezgoda M, Kołos M, Kaźmierczak W, Olesiński T, Lenarcik M, Cybulska M, Mikula M, Żylicz A, Miączyńska M, Zettl K, Wiśniewski JR, Walerych D.* The molecular network of the proteasome machinery inhibition response is orchestrated by HSP70, revealing vulnerabilities in cancer cells. Cell Reports (2022) Sep 27;40(13):111428.
• Grzes, M., Oron, M., Staszczak, Z., Jaiswar, A., Nowak-Niezgoda, M., and Walerych, D.* (2020). A Driver Never Works Alone-Interplay Networks of Mutant p53, MYC, RAS, and Other Universal Oncogenic Drivers in Human Cancer. Cancers 12, (2020).
• Walerych D*, Pruszko M, Zyla L, Wezyk M, Gaweda-Walerych K, Zylicz A. Wild-type p53 oligomerizes more efficiently than p53 hot-spot mutants and overcomes mutant p53 gain-of-function via a “dominant-positive” mechanism. Oncotarget. 9: 32063-80, (2018).
