Magdalena Zaniewska, PhD

Dr. Magdalena Zaniewska is an assistant professor at the Jerzy Maj Institute of Pharmacology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Krakow. She completed her master’s degree at the Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Biotechnology of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, majoring in biotechnology, and obtained her PhD in medical sciences at the Institute of Pharmacology PAS. After completing her doctorate, she undertook a 1.5-year postdoctoral fellowship at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in Berlin under the supervision of Prof. Michael Bader, where she developed her ability to conduct independent scientific research. Her scientific interests focus on the mechanisms of addiction to psychoactive substances, particularly nicotine and alcohol, as well as the search for new pharmacological and non-pharmacological (e.g., physical activity) treatment strategies for drug addiction. She has led research projects investigating the role of the serotonergic system in the development and maintenance of drug dependence, as well as associated changes in neuroplasticity and adult hippocampal neurogenesis. She has extensive experience in behavioral studies conducted on laboratory animals (mice and rats), molecular and biochemical techniques, and microscopic imaging, including confocal microscopy. She is the author of numerous scientific articles devoted to the regulation of serotonergic, adenosine, and endocannabinoid receptors in the context of withdrawal-induced disturbances.

Privately, she is a mother of two children and an enthusiast of gardening and mushroom foraging.