First session of the Institute Scientific Council (term 2007-2010) took place on January 12 2007. In a secret vote, the Council elected Prof. Leszek Kaczmarek as its chairman, Prof. Andrzej Wróbel and Prof. Jerzy Łazarewicz as its vice-chairmen. The Council also elected Prof. Barbara Grzelakowska-Sztabert as the chairman of the Committee for Doctoral Theses, Prof. Ewa Sikora as the chairman of the Committee for Advancement of Scientific Staff, and Prof. Barbara Przewłocka as the chairman of the Committee for Ethics in Science. Assoc. Prof. Maria Jolanta Rędowicz and Dr. Monika Malinowska were elected as the Council secretaries. During this session, the openings of doctoral theses of Katarzyna Trześniewska (supervisor – Prof. Danek Elbaum); Iwona Adamska (supervisor – D.Sc. Małgorzata Węsierska); Magdalena Kulma (supervisor – Prof. Andrzej Sobota); Ksenia Meyza (subervisor – Prof. Jolanta Zagrodzka); Michał Kurowski and Joanna Sasin (D.Sc. Janusz M. Bujnicki is supervising them both). The Council awarded Dorota Dymkowska and Marta Baksalerskaj-Pazera with the doctoral degrees in biological sciences. Also, the Council approved the change of scientific supervisor of Serhiy Havrylov; Assoc. Prof. Jolanta Rędowicz replaced Prof. Jolanta Barańska. The Council also approved the fusion of the Departments of Cellular Biochemistry and Muscle Biochemistry into one Department of Biochemistry. Prof. Ewa Sikora, the head of the Department of Cellular Biochemistry, agreed to be a head of the new Department.