Last session in 2009 of the Scientific Council of the Nencki Insitute took place on the 18th December. During the meeting issues related to the Doctoral Programme were discussed. The Council nominated four candidates for the Award of Prime Minister for the best doctoral thesis defended in 2009. Moreover, the members of the Council accepted principles of the European Charter for Researchers.

After closure of the session, President of the Polish Academy of Sciences, prof. Michał Kleiber, on behalf of the President of Republic of Poland, honored the following of our colleagues with orders:

Prof. Lech Wojtczak – the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta;

Prof. Barbara Grzelakowska-Sztabert, Prof. Leszek Kaczmarek and Prof. Hanna Kosmal – Officer Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta,

Prof. Stanisław Fabczak Prof. Bożena Kamińska-Kaczmarek, Prof. Małgorzata Kossut, Prof. Katarzyna Nałęcz, Prof. Barbara Oderfeld-Nowak, Prof. Jolanta Skangiel-Kramska, Prof. Ewa Sikora, Prof. Andrzej Sobota, Prof. Krzysztof Turlejski, Prof. Andrzej Wróbel, Prof. Elżbieta Wyroba and Prof. Jolanta Zagrodzka-Szmagalska – Knight’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta.