Biochemistry

Biography

Professor Piotr Laidler is a Polish scientist who lives and works in Kraków, Poland. He received MS in Chemistry from the Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry of the Jagiellonian University (JU), Kraków, Poland in 1971. His PhD and habilitation in Biology with specialization in Biochemistry (Dr hab) were granted at the N. Copernicus Medical Academy in Kraków in 1979 and 1992 respectively. In 2004, the Medical Faculty of the Jagiellonian University Medical College (JUMC) conferred the title of Professor of Medical Sciences on him. He was the Director of the Institute of Medical Biochemistry from 1996 until 2005. In 2005, he became the Head of the Chair of Medical Biochemistry of JUMC, and since 2012 he has been fulfilling duties of the Vice-Rector of JU for Medical College. Professor Laidler is committed to teaching chemistry and biochemistry to students of medicine and dietetics (Faculty of Medicine, JUMC), emergency medicine (Faculty of Health Sciences, JUMC), as well as veterinary (University Center for Veterinary Medicine). He has also been involved in teaching chemistry and biochemistry in English to international students at the School of Medicine in English, JUMC since its foundation in 1994. SME provides medical and dental education to over 700 hundred students from more than 20 different countries from all over the world. Professor Laidler published nearly 100 papers (international peer reviewed journals) in the fields of biochemistry, cell and molecular biology as author and coauthor, and over 150 conference communications at national and International conferences. He has also coauthored several chapters in books, monographs and textbooks.

Research Interest

For years Professor Laidler’s research interests focused on enzymology and glycobiology, but in recent years, biology and biochemistry of tumor cells have been his prime interest. His group has been carrying out research into expression and functional characteristics of adhesive proteins and signaling pathways, and molecular mechanisms involved in the development and progression of cancer (cell cycle, apoptosis, EMT/metastasis). They have also been evaluating the possibility of applying biophysical methods (atomic force microscopy – AFM/SFM) to characterize mechanical properties (flexibility and adhesion) of tumor cells. Research projects of his group have been carried out in cooperation with a number of scientific institutions in Poland, Europe (Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands), and the United States of America. The main aim of Professor Laidler’s scientific studies is the search for effective methods of cancer treatment.