In March of this year, Professor Maciej Nałęcz, longtime director of the Nencki Institute PAS, returned to the Institute after nearly 15 years of activity in the UNESCO in Paris. On May 1^st, 2016 prof. Maciej Nalecz was appointed Proxy of the Institute Director for the European Union Strategic Programs. His tasks will include: support to activities of the  management of the Nencki Institute in relation to European programs, in particular the HORIZON 2020 Program, identification of the scientific, educational and innovative European programs of a strategic dimension for the Nencki Institute, and initiation of research projects within fields of competence of the whole Institute.

Maciej Nałęcz has been associated with the Nencki Institute since 1976. He obtained the title of professor in 1994, in 1988-1990 was the Deputy Director for General Affairs and during 1990-2001 held the position of the Director of the Nencki Institute, elected three times. He is author or co-author of more than 140 publications in scientific journals, books and serial editions, including experimental papers and reviews (71with IF), as well as science popularization and science policy articles.  Maciej Nalecz has been awarded a number of medals, of which the most important are the Knight's Cross (1995) and the Officer's Cross (2008), the Order of “Polonia Restituta”. He is a member of the Polish Academy of Art and Sciences (PAU) and the European Academy of Science, Arts and Literature. In 2003 he was awarded an honorary doctorate of the University of Artois (Lille, France). Maciej Nalecz has held several positions in international scientific organizations, of which the most important was chairing the Fellowships Committee of FEBS (2001-2010). In 2001 Maciej Nalecz was appointed Director of the Division of Basic and Engineering Sciences   at UNESCO in Paris, where he worked until the end of 2015. While with UNESCO, he created the International Basic Sciences Programme, the sole programme dedicated to the basic sciences within UN System (IBSP), of which he was the Executive Secretary. IBSP created, e.g., the first centre for structural studies in Africa and Middle East under UNESCO auspices (synchrotron “SESAME”) in Jordan, the project directly coordinated by M. Nalecz, He was also responsible, on behalf of UNESCO, for the program "For Women in Science" sponsored by L'Oreal, coordinated a number of "International Years" (2005-Physics, 2011-chemistry, crystallography-2014, 2015-light) and UNESCO cooperation with other scientific organizations.