Molecular Mechanisms of Symbiosis Lab
PI: Ewa Chrostek · Jagiellonian University · Kraków
Latest News
Ewa joins the Scientific Advisors of ISIDORe II
May 2026
Ewa Chrostek has joined the Scientific Advisory Board of ISIDORe II,
a European project coordinated by ERINHA (European Research Infrastructure on Highly Pathogenic Agents) running from 2026 to 2029.
ISIDORe II brings together leading research infrastructures to provide coordinated access to services supporting infectious disease outbreak research, pandemic preparedness and response. As a board member, Ewa will contribute her expertise to guide the project's Joint Research Activities and help ensure its innovation remains aligned with the needs of the infectious disease and pandemic preparedness research communities.
Ewa Campus Living Lab mini-project
April 2026
Our project “Quadrupeds on Campus: A Human-Animal Interactions Lab” addresses the concurrent crises of deteriorating student mental health and overcrowded animal shelters by integrating shelter dogs into university spaces to foster the "human-animal bond." Ultimately, the program seeks to transform scientific insights into an integrated campus system that promotes mutual well-being and a sense of belonging for both humans and animals.
Ewa was awarded NCN grant - OPUS 29
December 2025
We got a grant! The "Nutri-Wolbachia: Identification of nutritional and metabolic dependencies between Drosophila, antiviral Wolbachia and virus" has been funded by the NCN National Science Centre in the Opus29 competition! We will do some cool nutrient, and in collaboration with Roy Goodacre at the University of Liverpool - metabolomics. Job adverts for postdoc and PhD positions should come early next year!
Academic Career Festival JU
October 2025
The Jagiellonian University hosted the first-ever Academic Career Festival in the university’s history. The event was dedicated to university staff and PhD students and aimed to promote the values of the European Charter for Researchers. It also provided an opportunity to share the experience and expertise of JU researchers in grant applications and in building interdisciplinary and international research teams.
During the ACF, Ewa gave a presentation on "How to find a winning idea".
Ola's PhD journey starts here
October 2025
Ola has just started her PhD journey! This is a significant step for her - a chance to explore a topic she finds fascinating. Her doctoral research explores the molecular mechanisms of protein interactions, with a focus on Wolbachia and its influence on host biology at the molecular level.
Yuliya appointed Postdoctoral Researcher
October 2025
We are excited to announce Yuliya’s new role as a postdoctoral researcher! She will focus on identifying the tissues where Wolbachia-mediated antiviral protection originates by quantifying viral and bacterial titers at early stages of infection. Once these sites are identified, she will employ RNAseq to pinpoint the host and Wolbachia genes responsible for the protective phenotype.
Navina’s publication
July 2025
We are excited to announce our first publication from our lab in Krakow!
A methodology article in the Journal of Visualised Experiments (JoVE) titled “Generation of Monoclonal Cultures from Wolbachia-infected Drosophila melanogaster JW18 Cell Line”. This was an amazing experience shooting a video demonstrating the protocol.
Yuliya’s PhD Thesis Defence
July 2025
Congratulations to Yuliya on defending her doctoral dissertation with distinction! The research was conducted under the supervision of Prof. Krzysztof Pyrć at the Małopolska Centre of Biotechnology. Yuliya’s work revealed that the alphavirus capsid protein possesses a self-inactivating protease domain, which acts as a critical molecular switch for viral assembly. Furthermore, she identified inhibitors that target this specific protease, providing a foundation for the development of novel antivirals against alphaviruses.
Two Conferences in Sant Feliu de Guíxols, Spain
June 2025
Our research made its way to Spain this June!
Yuliya represented our group at two scientific meetings in Spain. She attended the
EMBO|FEBS Lecture Course "Physical Virology: across length scales", where she presented her poster "Drosophila C virus and Drosophila melanogaster: a model for studying Wolbachia-induced antiviral protection". Following this, Yuliya participated in the FEBS Advanced Course "Biological surfaces and interfaces", presenting both a poster and a flash talk on “Wolbachia-induced antiviral protection: what can we learn from Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila C virus?".
Yuliya’s Proposal Selected for SOLARIS Beamtime
June 2025
Yuliya’s proposal, “Structural studies on Drosophila C virus”, was selected for beamtime at the National Synchrotron Radiation Centre SOLARIS (Poland). This provides access to the Titan Krios G3i cryo-electron microscope to perform measurements aimed at resolving the 3D structure of Drosophila C virus at near-atomic resolution.
Navina was awarded an ID.UJ grant!
May 2025
Navina was awarded an ID.UJ mini-grant of 11 981,40 PLN under the Research Support Module from the Faculty of Biology. The funding was acquired for her project titled “Investigating the Influence of Wolbachia on Host Cell Morphology”
Congratulations!
Yuliya was awarded an ID.UJ Mini-Grant!
March 2025
Yuliya has been awarded an ID.UJ Mini-Grant of 29,931 PLN from the Faculty of Biology (Jagiellonian University). The funding will support her research project “Biochemical Strategies for Uncovering Drosophila C Virus Receptors”.
Congratulations!
IGLO Open Event on the Polish Presidency in Brussel
January 2025
IGLO Open Event on the Polish Presidency: Programme and R&I Priorities” served to present and discuss Poland’s strategic vision and priorities in Research and Innovation during its presidency of the Council of the European Union. Together with other ERC laureates, Dr. Rafał Kucharski (Jagiellonian University) and Dr. Krzysztof Fic (Poznań University of Technology) Ewa was a panelist is a session moderated by prof. Leszek Kaczmarek (ERC Scientific Council Member, Nencki Institute of Expermiental Biology, PAS).
Biologists’ Night
January 2025
We had an amazing time conducting a workshop for the Biologists’ Night 2025.
“Climate, Critters and Superheroes” explained to students about the impact of climate change on the vector borne disease map globally along with possible solutions and introduction to superheroes who could avenge this situation. We had fun games and activities that piqued interest in the young minds!
Wiktor & Ewa trip to Czech
December 2024
The team carried out advanced imaging work in Prague to closely observe Wolbachia cells using cryo-CLEM and TEM techniques. Visualizing these structures is a key step in understanding both its transmission mechanisms and its interactions at the tissue level. The trip was funded by Isidore Access Fund grant.
New team member – Yuliya
December 2024
We’re excited to have Yuliya join the team as our lab technician, bringing her expertise in virology to the bench. She will support our upcoming major experiments and manage mosquito cultures.
New team member – Wiktor
November 2024
We are thrilled to welcome our new technician, Wiktor. He brings a valuable background in molecular biology to the team and will be working directly on our attempts to genetically modify Wolbachia for this project.
Ewa at the 9th International Weigl Conference, Rzeszow, Poland
November 2024
Ewa’s first time in Rzeszów, and what a visit it was! She has presented her talk on the “Intracellular life of an antiviral bacterium” and attended excellent lectures from many speakers, including Aaron Ciechanover, the Nobel laureate.
Małopolska Noc Naukowców
September 2024
Our first attempt at outreach in Krakow. During our workshops, the children learnt about Wolbachia – a fascinating bacterium – and we talked about its connection to mosquitoes and other insects, about diseases transmitted by insects, and about ways to prevent them.
Thanks to Aleksandra Błażejowska, Grzegorz Czelakowski and Karina Kapela for their help!
Ewa got a grant!
March 2024
Ewa won a grant!
Image-Wolbachia: Understanding Wolbachia and Wolbachia-conferred antiviral protection in dengue virus vector" (proposal ID:3283) has been funded by Isidore, a project aimed at increasing European and global capacity to prevent and respond to infectious threats.
The project focuses on imaging of mosquitoes with Wolbachia using Lightsheet and Correlative Light and Electron Microscopy (CLEM). We will be collaborating with the Prague Node of the EuroBioImaging initiative.
May 2024 – Ewa at EMBO Young Investigator Meeting on Ecology and Evolutionary Biology of Microbes, Urwitałt, Poland
Thanks to two amazing EMBO Young Investigators, Anna Karnkowska and Rafał Mostowy, Ewa made it to Mazury (Polish lake district)! A bunch of great talks and discussions followed. Thank you very much for inviting me!
New team member – Navina
September 2023
We are excited to welcome our first PhD student in Krakow, Navina. She comes from an Entomology background with experience in vector-borne diseases and Wolbachia research and will be working on validating cell culture as a reliable model to study Wolbachia conferred antiviral mechanism.
An Una Europa Focus Area, Cracow, Poland
June 2023
Ewa gave an invited talk during An Una Europa Focus Area: “Paths to frontier research: what is just Starting at the Jagiellonian University”. The meeting was addressed to life-science students, doctoral students and researchers interested in new tools and research models being developed at the JU, including colleagues from Una Europa universities and collaborating Ukrainian universities.
Wolbachia 2023 Conference – Ewa & Amirah
June 2023
Wolbachia Conferences are the main scientific events for the lab! 2023 edition did not
disappoint – we have met all our old friends there, saw loads of great science, and Amirah Rashid (University of Liverpool) presented our temperature choice experiments in mosquitoes. She was also very grateful for the travel grant she received!
5th Central European Biomedical Congress (CEBC), Cracow, Poland
May-June 2023
Staying local, but local was excellent this June. Ewa met some old friends, networked with new ones, and discussed not only Wolbachia but also ERC grants acquisition during the presentation at 5 th Central European Biomedical Congress (CEBC).
Meeting: MMS Lab says “Hi!”
February 2023
After the warm JU welcome, Ola and Ewa wanted to introduce the newly founded Molecular Mechanisms of Symbiosis Lab to the local research community. It was great to see everyone there!