The Biological Inorganic Chemistry Group
Faculty of Chemistry, University of Wrocław
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Prof. Elżbieta Gumienna-Kontecka (PhD, DSc) is Professor of Chemistry at the University of Wroclaw, Poland, where she graduated in 1998, obtained her PhD in 2002, and habilitation in 2013. In 2021, the President of the Republic of Poland awarded her the title of professor. In the years 2003-2005, prof. Gumienna-Kontecka completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of L. Pasteur in Strasbourg, financed by the prestigious European Union Maria Skłodowska-Curie fellowship. At present, she is the head of the Research Group of Biological Inorganic Chemistry and the head of the Department of Biological and Medicinal Chemistry at the Faculty of Chemistry of the University of Wrocław.
Her research interests focus on the structure and thermodynamics of bioinorganic systems, research on natural metallophores, as well as the development of their biomimetics as structural probes of iron and other metals assimilation processes by microorganisms, which can help in the design of novel diagnostic tools and therapeutics against antibiotic resistant microbes.
Prof. Gumienna-Kontecka is a co-author of 95 scientific publications (cited by independent authors over 1470 times). The level of her research has been recognized by the scientific community as evidenced by numerous invitations for lectures at national and international scientific conferences, as well as numerous reviews for leading scientific journals in the field of biological and inorganic chemistry. She obtains funds for the implementation of her scientific research as part of national and international research programmes. She has been the leader of projects financed by the National Science Center and the European Horizon Programmes.High scientific activity of Prof. Gumienna-Kontecka is associated with outstanding organizational activity in the field of didactics, popularization and organization of science. She has initiated the and is responsible for Medicinal Chemistry field of study at the Faculty of Chemistry UWr. Prof. Gumienna-Kontecka has been largely involved in science organization. It is worth emphasizing her activities in the organization of international conferences (Symposia in Inorganic Biochemistry, Conference of the Society of Biological Inorganic Chemistry 2021, and the International Symposium on Metal Complexes 2015, to mention a few) and scientific workshops, as well as in taking initiative, preparation and coordination of collaborative projects emerging within international research consortia (e.g. European Union Horizon, COST - European Cooperation in Science and Technology) which are a unique opportunity to promote and enhance the potential of the bioinorganic scientific community. Her potential was recognized by the Society of Biological Inorganic Chemistry, and she has been elected member of its Council for years 2021-2025. For her achievements in research and in the field of organization of science, prof. Gumienna-Kontecka was awarded the prizes of the Minister of Education and Science and Rector of the University of Wroclaw.