Dr Bartosz Mierzejewski Awarded the NAWA Mieczysław Bekker Scholarship

29 01 2026

Dr Bartosz Mierzejewski from the Department of Cytology, Institute of Developmental Biology and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, has been awarded the Mieczysław Bekker Scholarship of the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA).

The scholarship was granted for the project entitled “Immune-evasive mesoangioblasts as a treatment for dilated cardiomyopathy.” As part of the programme, Dr Mierzejewski will complete a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at the Division of Cell Matrix Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester (Manchester, UK).

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is one of the most common heart diseases and a leading cause of death among patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The aim of the project is to develop a new cell-based therapy for DCM using human, immortalised and immunologically privileged mesoangioblasts. These cells combine the ability to regenerate damaged heart tissue with reduced activation of the immune system, which means a lower risk of rejection by the patient’s body.

The planned research includes optimisation of the cell dose and evaluation of treatment effectiveness using functional tests, echocardiography, histological analyses of heart muscle, and assessment of cell integration with cardiac tissue. The proposed approach may contribute to the development of a new, universal and cost-effective therapy for DCM, regardless of its underlying cause.

The NAWA Mieczysław Bekker Scholarship Programme supports doctoral candidates, researchers and academic teachers from Polish research institutions in achieving research excellence by enabling scientific development in leading international research and academic centres worldwide.

More about the programme:
https://nawa.gov.pl/naukowcy/program-imienia-bekkera/o-programie

List of awardees:
https://nawa.gov.pl/naukowcy/program-imienia-bekkera/wyniki-naboru

We warmly congratulate Dr Mierzejewski on receiving the funding and wish him every success during the fellowship and in further international collaboration.