November 05, 2018

Adrian Krzyzanowski receives Hoechst PhD Stipend

Adrian Krzyzanowski was awarded the Hoechst PhD Stipend of the Aventis Foundation in recognition of his excellent academic performance. The stipend is valued 46.000 Euro and is given once a year by the "Stiftung Stipendien-Fonds" of the "Verbandes der Chemischen Industrie (VCI)".

05 November 2018

In his PhD project at the Max-Planck-Institute in Dortmund Adrian Krzyzanowski works on synthesis of cyclic peptides as novel modulators of protein-protein interactions. Protein-protein interactions typically involve large surface areas and often are not amenable to modulation by classical drug-like small molecules. Well-designed cyclic peptides, however, can combine the advantages of small molecules and larger polypeptide agents, affording potentially very potent protein-protein modulators. Recent developments in synthetic and computational techniques allow for the optimisation of the membrane permeability and stability of cyclic peptides while maintaining high affinity and target specificity. Adrian aims to obtain potent cyclic peptides that could modulate protein-protein interactions involved in epigenetic regulation of cellular processes using solid phase peptide synthesis with elements of solution-based organic chemistry methods. Epigenetic regulation influences gene transcription and plays an important role in the development of cancer and various other diseases. A key component are the histone proteins which regulate the accessibility of specific genes. Adrian will work on the inhibition of protein complexes that modify these histone proteins in an attempt to correct aberrant gene regulation. The doctoral thesis is supervised by Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Herbert Waldmann at the Max-Planck-Institute in Dortmund.

Adrian was born 1994 in Inowroclaw, Poland, and studied Biochemistry at the University of Aberystwyth, UK. After he finished his bachelor's studies with first class honours he went for his master degree in Chemistry to Umeå University, Sweden. He finished both degrees at the top of his class. During his studies he was awarded four prizes, including a prize of the Royal Society of Biology. During his master thesis he applied synthetic organic chemistry to solve chemical and biological questions.

Until 2009 the Hoechst Stipend was awarded by the Aventis Foundation, a non-profit foundation based in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was originally founded by the Hoechst AG under the name of Hoechst Foundation until it was renamed 2000. Since 2010 the Hoechst PhD Stipend is awarded in a selection procedure in cooperation with the "Fonds der Chemischen Industrie". It is financed by the Aventis Foundation.

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