A scientific journey to the global forefront: Dr. Anna Szczurek at UCLA
Our colleague, Dr. Eng. Anna Szczurek (PhD defense: 2021), after receiving a fellowship under the Bekker Programme (NAWA), began an 18-month research fellowship on June 1 at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), specifically in the Paul Weiss Lab. The lab’s primary research areas focus on monolayers, 2D materials (graphene, MXenes), electrochemistry, and biomaterials.
She will conduct research directly within the team led by Professor Paul S. Weiss, a distinguished scholar in chemistry and biochemistry, bioengineering, and materials science and engineering (Scopus h-index: 91). Professor Weiss is also the founding editor-in-chief of ACS Nano (IF: 17.0) and former director of the California NanoSystems Institute, whose research facilities Dr. Eng. Anna Szczurek also has access to.
The project currently pursued by Dr. Anna Szczurek is titled: “Bijel-Templated Hierarchically Porous Oxide Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering.”
The project aims to develop synthesis methods and materials that, owing to their unique properties, will mimic natural bone and serve as an effective solution for advanced bone tissue engineering. To achieve this, synthesis guided by material property characterization will rely on the sol-gel method and templating using bijels (bicontinuous interfacially jammed emulsion gels). The proposed approach is expected to endow the oxide scaffolds with a hierarchically porous structure featuring interconnected pores, while subsequent doping with active substances—such as nanohydroxyapatite, oxygen-generating agents, and anti-inflammatory compounds—will enhance the bioactivity of the resulting materials. Key advantages of this methodology include its technological simplicity and the ability to precisely tailor the material’s pore structure.
It is worth noting that Dr. Szczurek’s path to UCLA included earlier research stays at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), and the Institute of Photonics and Nanotechnology in Trento (IFN-CNR). Following her work at Wrocław University of Science and Technology, she worked in industry at the startup XTPL, and subsequently served as a postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Advanced Technology at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań.
We are delighted by our colleague’s achievements and wish her a successful fellowship at UCLA and continued scientific success.
