NCMM Alumni: Dr Kinga Gaweł

Dr Kinga Gaweł is currently an Associate Professor at the Medical University of Lublin, Poland. She was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Esguerra group from 2018 to 2020.

A photo of Kinga Gaweł. She has shoulder length blonde hair and is wearing a read long sleeved top.

Photo: Dr Kinga Gaweł

How did you come to do your postdoc with the Esguerra group?

When I was about to defend my PhD thesis, I did a pre-doctoral fellowship in Uppsala, Sweden. I really enjoyed my time in Sweden, so when I eventually defended my PhD thesis I told my boss that I definitely have to go abroad again. One of our colleagues mentioned that he knows someone in Oslo who would be happy to take me on for a while in her lab. That is how I was introduced to Camila. She was in Poland when she was giving lecturer at a zebrafish meeting. In order to pursue my dream of doing a postdoc abroad, I applied for a fellowship in the Polish Ministry of Science Education, and also to the European Commission. Luckily, I obtained the first fellowship. After one month in Oslo, I received the news that I was awarded by a second institution too. I had initially planned to spend one year in Norway but instead I was there for 3 years!

What did you most enjoy about your time as a postdoc?

I cannot say my beginnings as a post-doc were easy. Zebrafish, a model which I used on a daily basis in my work, was something new for me. As a “rodent person” I had to completely shift towards fish which was quite challenging — larval zebrafish are tiny and completely different from rodents. Nevertheless, I had a very good (but not very patient) teacher, Dr Ettore Tiraboschi, and he taught me a lot in this regard. Later on, Dr Wietske van der Ent joined our lab and as a very talented “fish person” she also provided me very good training. Altogether, I was very lucky with Camila and the group members. They were people from different countries, with different skills, different backgrounds but the same sense of humour! I strongly believe that the group members were also happy with me - I taught them some polish words and polish culture.

How did your time at NCMM help shape your career path?

My postdoc in Camila’s lab definitely pushed my career. When I returned to my mother university (Medical University of Lublin, Poland), I was promoted to the position of Associate Professor. During my stay in NCMM, I was quite efficient in terms of publications, and some of them were included into my second doctorate thesis (docent) - which is now under evaluation. Apart from this, I gained a lot of knowledge and new skills which I am still using in Poland. Not to mention all the collaborations which were established during my time at NCMM.

Can you tell us about your current role and what you're working on now?

I am an Associate Professor at the Medical University of Lublin, Poland and I am about to start my own research team. I am still using zebrafish in my daily work - I am focused on epilepsy, but I want to combine both fish and rodent models in my research.

Do you still collaborate with anyone from the Esguerra group/ UiO?

Of course! I still have contact, both privately and scientifically, with Camila’s group members as well as with Camila. Hopefully, next year I will join the Esguerra lab for a couple of weeks again.