On Thursday (1.10) we will host dr. Tomasz Zajkowski (Assistant Professor at AGH University’s Faculty of Space Technologies and Head of the Astrobiology Laboratory) His lecture will be entitled: "From Protein Misfolding to Astrobiology: Prions, Amyloids, and the Origins of Life". The lecture will take place at 3 p.m. in the CN lecture hall and it will be followed by a get together.

Profile: He is a molecular biologist whose research focuses on the origins of life and the application of synthetic biology in space exploration. His work at NASA Ames Research Center and Stanford University led to the discovery of protein-based inheritance mechanisms in Archaea. Dr. Zajkowski a mentor at the Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, co-founder of the biotechnology startup Switch Bioworks focused on sustainable agriculture, and President of the Polish Astrobiology Society. He was a finalist in the 2025 Science Communicator of the Year competition, and his prion research has been featured by Forbes magazine.

Abstract:

My research explores how protein structure and self-assembly may connect fundamental questions in molecular biology with the origin and evolution of life. A particular focus of my work is on amyloids and prion-like proteins: molecules capable of adopting stable, self-propagating conformations that can act as structural templates and, in some cases, transmit biological information independently of changes in DNA sequence. In this seminar, I will discuss our work on the origin and evolution of prion-like domains across different branches of life, experimental approaches to identifying and characterizing new amyloid and prion-like proteins, and the hypothesis that amyloid self-assembly may have played a role in prebiotic chemistry and the emergence of the first biological information systems. I will also reflect on my path from the Nencki Institute, through research at Stanford and NASA Ames, to establishing the Polish Astrobiology Society and research laboratory: Space Biology and Astrobiology in Kraków. This journey has also led me to become the program director for the MSc in Space Biotechnology at AGH University of Krakow, designed to give students with a biological background the skills needed to enter the rapidly growing space sector.