On November 8th 2019, in the Institute of Biocybernetics and Biomedical Engineering of the Maciej Nałęcz Polish Academy of Sciences, the Festival of Doctoral Students of the Ochota Biocentre took place. During the ceremony, the directors of the individual institutes that constitute the Ochota Biocentre presented the awards with the statuettes of 'Doctorate cum laude' to the graduates who received their doctoral degrees with honours in 2018. The participants listened to the lecture by Prof. Szymon Malinowski from the Institute of Geophysics of Warsaw University, entitled "Global warming: mechanisms and perspectives", and became acquainted with the offer of Doctoral Schools existing in the Ochota Biocentre. Information about the Warsaw Doctoral School in Natural and BioMedical Sciences [Warsaw4PhD], coordinated by the Nencki Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences, was presented by Prof. Daniel Wójcik, Chairman of the School's Programme Council. The ceremony ended with an integration meeting at the Dekada Club.

Awarded graduates from Nencki Institute:

dr Wioletta Grabowska - The influence of curcumin on vascular smooth muscle cells senescence. Supervisor-Dr hab. Anna Bielak-Żmijewska.

dr Michał Laskowski - Electrophysiological and functional properties of the mitochondrial potassium channels". Supervisor- Prof. dr hab. Adam Szewczyk, auxiliary promoter-dr Bogusz Kulawiak.

dr Monika Regiel - Neuronal mechanisms of associative memory of emotionally-charged verbal material - behavioural and fMRI study. Supervisor-Prof. dr hab. Anna Garbowska, auxiliary promoter -Dr hab. Artur Marchewka.

dr Sara Rosińska - Localization and function of CacyBP/SIP in cell nucleus: an interaction with the NPM1 protein. Supervisor-Prof. dr hab. Anna Filipek.

dr Anna Skupień - The role of CD44 transmembrane protein in the neuronal dendritic tree development. Supervisor -Dr hab. Joanna Dzwonek.

dr Justyna Sobocińska - The role of protein palmitoylation in signaling pathways of TLR4 receptor activated by lipopolysaccharide. Supervisor -Prof. dr hab. Katarzyna Kwiatkowska.

dr Anna Strzeszewska-Potyrała - Signalling pathways leading to senescence of cancer cells induced by DNA damage. Supervisor -Prof. dr hab. Ewa Sikora, auxiliary promoter -Dr Olga Alster.

Congratulations to all the winners