In Memoriam Professor Mirosława Włodarczyk

10 03 2026

With deep sorrow, we received the news of the death of Professor Mirosława Włodarczyk, who passed away on 8 March 2026. Professor Włodarczyk was connected with the Institute of Microbiology of our Faculty throughout her entire professional life. She was a student of Professor Władysław Kunicki-Goldfinger – under his supervision she prepared her Master’s thesis and then her doctoral dissertation. In 1978 she obtained the degree of habilitated doctor, and in 1998 she received the title of Professor of Biological Sciences. She was a full professor at the University of Warsaw.

Her scientific interests focused mainly on issues related to the transfer of genetic information in bacteria, DNA recombination, and bacterial plasmids. She was the author of several dozen scientific papers in this field, including textbooks.

In the 1970s and 1980s, she conducted research in several foreign scientific centres in Denmark (University of Odense), the United Kingdom (Warwick University), and the United States (University of Tennessee, University of Georgia). In those difficult times for Polish science, she brought back new ideas and inspiration to develop research in her home institution.

Professor Mirosława Włodarczyk was a recognised and respected microbiologist in the scientific community. She was actively involved in the Committee of Microbiology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, the Polish Genetic Society, and the Polish Society of Microbiologists. In 2006-2009 she served as Editor-in-Chief of the journal Polish Journal of Microbiology. She was also the Chair of the Professor K. Bassalik Award Committee of the Committee of Microbiology of the Polish Academy of Sciences and was involved in the work of the Senate committee for the Awards of the Rector of the University of Warsaw. She herself was a recipient of many awards and scholarships, including three awards granted by the Minister of Education and Higher Education / the Minister of Science, Higher Education and Technology – for her doctoral dissertation (1970), for her habilitation thesis (1979), and for co-authoring the academic textbook “Molecular Biology of Bacteria” (PWN, 2006).

Professor Włodarczyk will remain in our memory as a kind person, genuinely interested in science and devoted to working with students. She was an excellent teacher, educator, and mentor to several generations of microbiologists.

The funeral ceremonies will take place on Tuesday, 17 March at 14:30 at the Funeral Home at the Southern Municipal Cemetery in Antoninów, followed by the procession to the local cemetery.