
phone: +48 22 55 43 760
room: 02.171/02.130
Solar Fuels Laboratory (Group Leader)
Prof. Dr. hab. Joanna Kargul (Associate Professor, Group Leader) is Head of the Laboratory of Solar Fuels at CeNT UW. She obtained a PhD in biological sciences in 1999 from the University of Warwick, UK. Her postdoctoral research conducted in the group of James Barber at Imperial College London, UK led to several discoveries of novel molecular mechanisms of photosynthetic adaptation to changing environment (e.g. dissecting the molecular components of state transitions) and refining the crystallographic structure of the PSII oxygen evolving complex. Habilitation in 2009 from the University of Warsaw. Since 2011 Associate Professor following establishing an independent research group at the University of Warsaw. In 2011 J. Kargul established a node for solar fuels research in Poland and has led several projects on application of extremophilic red algal photosystems (light harvesting protein complexes) for construction of biohybrid solar cells and solar-to-hydrogen devices. She has extensive experience and success in leading several national and international grants (e.g. ESF/EuroSolarFuels/Solarfueltandem consortium) as well coordinating the bilateral Polish-Turkish consortium POLTUR/GraphESol which have all been focused on natural and artificial solar energy conversion. She serves as the International Ambassador of the Biochemical Society and serves on several editorial and strategic boards of the funding bodies (e.g. IJBCB, J Nanotech, Grants Committee of the Biochemical Society). She holds two Honorary Fellowships from Imperial College London and University College London. She is Senior Editor of Int J of Biochem Cell Biol.
Dr. Kargul’s long-standing research focuses on several fundamental aspects of photosynthesis and the functional role of the photosystems with emphasis on the dynamics of their structure and function, especially under extreme growth conditions. She and her group apply this fundamental knowledge for construction of biohybrid solar-to-fuel devices incorporating photosystems and various conductive and semi-conductive materials (e.g. graphene, silicon, hematite etc.). This highly interdisciplinary research spans structural biology, biochemistry, plant physiology, electrochemistry, biophysics and material science. Over 36 publications including papers in Plant Cell, EMBO J, JBC, Adv Funct Mat, J Mat Chem A and C, RSC Adv, with the Google Scholar h-index: 17, >1500 citations w/o self-citations; >60 international invited talks.
EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATIONS:
1 Sep 2011 – to date Associate Professor, University of Warsaw
20 April 2009 DSc (Dr hab.) in Biological Sciences, University of Warsaw, Poland.
Habilitation thesis: “Supramolecular organisation of Photosystems I and II in differential redox conditions”
13 July 1999 PhD in Biological Sciences, University of Warwick, UK.
Thesis: “Biochemical characterisation of the AUX1 protein from Arabidopsis thaliana”.
17 June 1993 MSc in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry (First Class Honours), University of Warsaw, Poland.
Thesis: “Oxygen evolution and lipid hydrolysis in thylakoids of chilling-sensitive and chilling-resistant plants”.
ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS:
Sep 2014 – to date Associate Professor/Head of the Solar Fuels Lab, Center of New Technologies, University of Warsaw, Poland
Sep 2011 – Aug 2014 Associate Professor/Group Leader, Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, Poland
May 2001 – Aug 2011 Senior Research Fellow, Division of Molecular Biosciences, Imperial College London, UK
Nov 1998 – April 2001 Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biophysics, Imperial College at Wye, UK
Aug 1992 – Aug 1994 Research and Teaching Assistant, Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, Poland
AWARDS AND FELLOWSHIPS:
Jan 2018 The University of Warsaw Rector’s Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievements
Aug 2011 – to date Honorary Fellowship, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Imperial College London
Sep 2005 – to date Honorary Research Fellowship, Department of Medicine, University College London, UK
Oct 1994 – Sep 1998 PhD Wolfson Research Scholarship, University of Warwick, UK
Feb 1992 – Jun 1992 TEMPUS Scholarship, University College of North Wales, Bangor, UK
GRANTS AWARDED:
2018 – Principal Investigator of the Polish National Science Centre OPUS grant (Centre of New Technologies, University of Warsaw, Poland) “Design and optimisation of molecular interface for efficient electron transfer within photosystem I-based photovoltaic devices” (years 2018-2021; 2,017,600 PLN)
2016 – Coordinator/Principal Investigator of the Bilateral Polish-Turkish Project POLTUR/GraphESol awarded by NCBiR/TUBITAK (consortium of Centre of New Technologies, University of Warsaw, Nicolaus Copernicus University and Mersin University) “Graphene-derived electrodes for bio-inspired solar-fuel device” (years 2016-2019, 850,000 PLN)
2016 – Awardee of the NCN “Grants for Grants: promoting quality II” (“Granty na granty: promocja jakości II” Tytuł: „Nowe technologie zmieniające energię słoneczną w paliwa poprzez konwersję dwutlenu węgla przy użyciu biohybrydowych elektrod na bazie komponentów wyizolowanych z organizmów ekstremofilnych”) (8,000 PLN)
2015 – Principal Investigator of the Polish National Science Centre OPUS grant (Centre of New Technologies, University of Warsaw, Poland) “Structural and functional characterisation of the photosynthetic apparatus of an extremophilic red microalga Cyanidioschyzon merolae” (years 2015-2018; 1,671,356 PLN)
2014 – Scientific supervisor of the Polish National Science Centre PRELUDIUM grant (Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, Poland, awarded to Mr Julian Janna Olmos, my current PhD student) “Investigation of amino acid linker-specific dependence of electron transfer between cytochrome c553 and photosystem I from an extremophilic red alga Cyanidioschyzon merolae on a p-doped silicon electrode” (years 2014-2016; 99,810 PLN)
2013 – Co-Investigator of the Polish National Science Centre OPUS grant (Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, Poland) “Developing of a stable transformation system in an extremophilic unicellular red alga Cyanidioschyzon merolae 10D” (years 2014-2015; 878,010 PLN)
2011 – Principal Investigator of the EuroSolarFuels/European Science Foundation grant (Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, Poland) “Development of self-organised catalyst using highly robust PSI particles from extremophilic red alga C. merolae for sustainable H2 production” awarded by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education (years 2011-2014; 1,992,212 PLN)
2007 – Named Main Researcher of the EPSRC grant (Imperial College London, UK) “New and Renewable Solar Routes to Hydrogen Energy” (years 2007-2012; 4,200,000 GBP)
2011 – The Biochemical Society General Travel Grant
2006 – The Biochemical Society General Travel Grant
2004 – The Royal Society Conference Grant
2004 – The Biochemical Society General Travel Grant
2000 – The Biochemical Society General Travel Grant
1997 – The Society for General Microbiology President’s Fund Travel Grant
MEMBERSHIP OF PROFESSIONAL BODIES:
Senior Editor, International Journal of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, (Publisher: Elsevier; Impact Factor 2016: 3.505).
Editorial Board, Journal of Nanotechnology
Elected member: The Biochemical Society (International Local Ambassador for Poland), American Society of Plant Biologists, The International Society of Photosynthesis Research, The Science Advisory Board.
REFEREEING SERVICE:
Grants Committee Member, The Biochemical Society (2018-2019)
External Reviewer for H2020 MSCA-IF (Individual Fellowships) 2017 proposals
NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada) External Reviewer of the Discovery grants
Reviewer of applications within the Innovational Research Incentives Scheme Veni 2011-2016 ALW, The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research;
Reviewer of Polish research grants submitted to the National Centre of Science (NCN, the main Polish Research Council) and Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education (Diamond Grant)
Senior Editor, Int J Biochem Cell Biol, coordinating peer review and making editorial decisions on over 250 original research papers per year
Regular referee for Plant Physiology, The Plant Cell, Scientific Reports, The International Journal of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Journal of Biological Chemistry, Biochimica et Biophysica Acta, Dalton Transactions, PLOSOne, SpringerPlus, International Journal of Nanomedicine, Acta Physiologiae Plantarum, Nano Microletters, Nanoscale Research Letters, Photosynthetica, Biointerphases, Advanced Nanomaterials, and Journal of the Royal Society Interface.
TEACHING AND Student SUPERVISION:
Oct 2016 – present – co-supervision of a PhD student to construct a viable biohybrid graphene photoelectrode.
Aug 2016 – Sep 2016 – supervision of a BSc student from Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw to conduct a summer project on investigation of photoprotection mechanisms in Cyanidioschyzon merolae
May 2016 – Aug 2016 – supervision of 4 high school students (awardees of National Foundation for Children scholarships) to conduct internship in the Solar Fuels Laboratory, Centre of New Technologies
Nov 2015 – present – supervision of a PhD student to investigate molecular mechanisms of photoprotection in photosynthetic apparatus of Cyanidioschyzon merolae
Jul 2015 – Oct 2015 – Supervision of 4 EUROPA 2020 undergraduate students from Warsaw University of Life Sciences
Jul 2015 – Sep 2015 – Supervision of the ERASMUS student from Carinthia University of Applied Sciences, Austria. Project title: “Construction of the p-doped silicon biohybrid photoelectrode using highly robust photosystem I from Cyanidioschyzon merolae”
Jan 2014 – present – Invited TEMPUS lectures on natural and artificial photosynthesis, Warsaw Agricultural University, Poland
Oct 2013 – to date – Lecturer of the course: Perspectives of Modern Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw
Sep 2011 – to date – Supervision of a PhD student to develop bio-inspired nanodevices producing molecular hydrogen. Supervision of an MSc student and a BSc student, Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw.
Oct 2009 – March 2010 – Supervision of an MSc student to develop a chloroplast transformation system in a red alga Cyanidioschyzon merolae, Division of Molecular Biosciences, Imperial College London.
May 2007 – Jun 2007 – Supervision of a BSc Biotechnology student to purify and biochemically characterise His-tagged Photosystem II with Sr2+ replacing Ca2+ in the catalytic site of the water-splitting enzyme, Division of Molecular Biosciences, Imperial College London.
Jun 2006 – Sep 2006 – Supervision of an exchange student from Tokyo Institute of Technology to conduct 3D crystallization of Photosystem II with strontium replacing calcium in the oxygen evolving centre, Division of Molecular Biosciences, Imperial College London.
Mar 2006 – Tutor of 35 1st year PhD students within Imperial College London Graduate School (Faculty of Life Sciences, Research Skills Development Course).
Oct 2002 – Oct 2007 – Imperial College London. Co-supervision of two PhD students to conduct projects on (i) genetic and biochemical manipulation of hydrogen gas production by green algae (ii) 3D crystallization of Photosystem II (water-splitting enzyme). Training of a junior post-doctoral research associate in structural studies of photosynthetic macromolecules. Co-supervised undergraduate projects (3 in total).
Sep 1999 – Aug 2000 – Imperial College at Wye. Supervision of a BSc student to conduct a final year project on identification and biochemical analysis of novel mechanisms of plant responses to drought stress.
Oct 1996 – May 1997 – University of Warwick, Department of Biological Sciences. Report marking, tutorials, design and running laboratory practical courses for undergraduate/graduate students (Plant Biochemistry/Physiology Modules).
Oct 1992 – May 1993 – University of Warsaw, Faculty of Biology. Tutorials and running laboratory practicals for undergraduates (Protein Biochemistry and Enzymology Modules).
Refereed publications (with CeNT affiliation):
Refereed publications (without CeNT affiliation):
Editorials:
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