Department of Neurooncology

Head
Jakub Godlewski PhD, phone 22 60 86 567; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., room B-603
Research Staff
Robert Ostrowski PhD, phone 22 60 86 535, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., room B-604
Emanuela Pucko PhD, phone 22 60 86 541, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., room B-602
Sylwia K Król PhD, phone 22 60 86 468; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., room B-613
Joanna Reszczyńska PhD, phone 22 60 86 468, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., room B-613
Graduate students
Adrian Szczepaniak MSc, phone 22 60 86 468; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., room B-613
Barbara Olejniczak MSc, phone 22 60 86 468, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., room B-613
Project Manager / Administration
Elżbieta Lewandowska-Gnatowska PhD, phone 22 60 86 502; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., room B-625

NCN OPUS Scholarship Holders:
Natalia Wnęk
Olga Hołówka
Jan Jurak
Zuzanna Milczarska
Maja Mejza

Research profile

  • Glioma immunotherapy using oncolytic viruses and extracellular vesicles
  • The role of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs): microRNAs, lncRNAs and circular RNAs in the pathogenesis of human glioblastomas
  • The role of CMV in the pathophysiology of glioblastomas
  • Potential applications of ncRNAs in the treatment of breast cancer brain metastases
  • Stem cells initiating the formation of glioblastomas (glioblastoma stem-like cells) as a potential therapeutic target
  • Use of extracellular vesicles as carriers of therapeutic molecules

Other forms of activity

  • Archived material (paraffin blocks and slides): large collections of archived human tissue, examined in the clinical diagnostics from 1961 to 2011 years including cases of fetal, neonatal and infantile developmental disabilities; cases of adult disorders (about 250 AIDS cases from MJ. Mossakowski collection; biopsies of CNS neoplasms

Grants

  • Factory of extracellular vesicles for personalized anti-cancer recurrence vaccine (Acronym: CROSSFIRE) – ABM Transmed I, Nr: 2024/ABM/08/00106, Principal Investigator: Jakub Godlewski PhD, 2026-2029
  • Mossakowski Digital Neuro-Oncology – cyfryzacja i innowacyjne wykorzystanie archiwalnych danych neuroonkologicznych i klinicznych w IMDiK PAN - Naukowa Fundacja Polpharma, Principal Investigator: Robert Ostrowski PhD, 2024-2027
  • Extracellular vesicles carrying microRNA in experimental immunotherapy for glioblastoma” - NCN OPUS 21, No. 2021/41/B/NZ6/0243, Principal Investigator: Jakub Godlewski PhD, 2022-2025 https://projekty.ncn.gov.pl/en/index.php?projekt_id=518803
  • Drug Repurposing for Brain Tumor Treatment through Ex Vivo Screening of GBM patient- derived Cell Cultures and Inhibiting of Extracelluler Vesicles, MMRI PAS Internal Research Fund No. FBW-048, Principal Investigator: Sylwia Król PhD, 2024-2025
  • “The role of circular RNA – MALAT1 in breast-to-brain cancer metastasis” - NCN PRELUDIUM 20, No: 2021/41/N/NZ3/02209, Principal Investigator – Adrian Szczepaniak MSc, 2022-2024 https://projekty.ncn.gov.pl/en/index.php?projekt_id=515697
  • “Control of microRNAome maturation and its application in targeted therapy of cancer stem cells” - NCN OPUS 20, No: 2020/39/B/NZ5/02893, Principal Investigator: Jakub Godlewski PhD, 2021-2024 https://projekty.ncn.gov.pl/en/index.php?projekt_id=504919
  • “MicroRNA-carrying extracellular vesicles for the therapy of glioblastoma” - Internal Research Fund IMDiK PAN 2021, Principal Investigator: Jakub Godlewski PhD, Funding: M. Mossakowski Institute of Experimental and Clinical Medicine of the Polish Academy of Sciences, 2021-2022
  • “Exosome-mediated enhancement of immunotherapy against glioblastoma – the role of non-coding RNA” - National Agency for Academic Exchange, Polish Returns Programme 2019, No: PPN/PPO/2019/1/00001, Principal Investigator: Jakub Godlewski PhD, 2020-2024

Scholarships

  •  Decoding the Molecular Footprint of Cytomegalovirus in Glioblastoma: The Impact of Long Non-Coding HCP5 on Tumor Progression and Immune Evasion. Walczak Programme (Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange / Medical Research Agency), BPN/WAL/2024/1/00026, awarded in 2025, internship carried out in 2026, Adrian Szczepaniak, M.Sc.
  • Scholarship "Exchange to the US" The Kosciuszko Foundation - academic year 2023/2024, Adrian Szczepaniak, M.Sc.

National collaboration

  • National Medical Research Institute, Ministry of the Interior and Administration (MSWiA), Warsaw
  • M. Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences (PAS), Warsaw
  • Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences (PAS), Warsaw
  • Institute of Human Genetics, Polish Academy of Sciences (PAS), Poznań
  • Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw
  • Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, Warsaw
  • National Medicines Institute, Warsaw
  • Tumor Microenvironment Laboratory, Mossakowski Medical Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences (PAS)
  • Department of Neurochemistry, Mossakowski Medical Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences (PAS)

Foregin collaboration

  • E. Antonio Chiocca, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
  • Sean E. Lawler, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

Research methods

  • Proteomics (immunodetection by Western Blotting, immunoprecipitation immunofluorescence, immunohistochemistry, mass spectroscopy)
  • Transcriptomics/Genomics (PCR, qPCR, microarrays, next-generation sequencing NGS, nucleic acid isolation)
  • Human cancer cell models (3D cultures of glioma stem cells)
  • Animal models (intracranial tumors)
  • Genetic engineering (transient or stable silencing/amplification of gene expression using siRNA, shRNA, CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing, lentiviral vectors)
  • Microscopy (light, fluorescence)
  • Therapeutic carriers (nano-particles, oncolytic viruses, extracellular vesicles)
  • Histopathological and histochemical techniques
  • Enzyme-spectrophotometric assays
  • Model of total cerebral ischemia
  • In vivo and in vitro models of neoplastic and ischemic CNS pathologies

Research equipment

  • Equipment of the cell culture laboratory (CO2 flow incubator, laminar flow chamber, inverted microscope with photo-optics, Multisizer3 by Beckman Coulter, Zeiss inverted fluorescence microscope, cell counter, Muse Cell Analyzer)
  • Hyperbaric chamber for in vitro studies
  • Equipment of the histopathology laboratory (microtomes, cryostat, heaters)
  • Molecular biology laboratory equipment (thermocycler (Applied Biosystems), QS 5 (Applied Biosystems), electrophoresis and blotting apparatus, Chemistry-doc (Bio-Rad), NanoDrop, centrifuges)

Selected publications

2026
Pucko, E.B.; Godlewski, J.; Kaźmierczak, N.; Ostrowski, R.P. Anti-Glioma Agents and Hyperbaric Oxygen for Prospective Therapeutic Approaches. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2026, 27, 8504. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms27198504

Bronisz A, Kiel K, Godlewski J. Psychological distress as a putative host-state determinant of cancer immunotherapy response. Front Immunol. 2026;17:1891642. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2026.1891642. eCollection 2026. Review. PubMed PMID: 42598069; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC13470193. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42598069/

Szczepaniak A, Karwowski J, Bronisz A, Godlewski J. Circular RNA dynamics in breast-to-brain metastatic cascade. BMC Biol. 2026 Jul 8;. doi: 10.1186/s12915-026-02666-9. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 42415096. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42415096/

Kiel K, Małuszek M, Piwocka K, Godlewski J, Bronisz A. A standardized single-tube 17-color spectral flow cytometry workflow for integrated immunophenotyping of human PBMCs and mixed co-culture systems. Front Immunol. 2026;17:1799028. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2026.1799028. eCollection 2026. PubMed PMID: 42183289; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC13194583. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42183289/

2025
Kiel K, Piranlioglu R, Godlewski J, Bronisz A. Harnessing immunotherapy: cancer vaccines as novel therapeutic strategies for brain tumor. Front Immunol. 2025;16:1588081. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1588081. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2025.1588081

Olejniczak B, Balakrishnan A, Augustyniak J, Salińska E, Bronisz A, Godlewski J. Transcriptomic analysis of the TRP gene family in human brain physiopathology. Front Mol Neurosci. 2025;18:1576941. doi: 10.3389/fnmol.2025.1576941. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnmol.2025.1576941

Balakrishnan A, Winiarek G, Hołówka O, Godlewski J, Bronisz A. Unlocking the secrets of the immunopeptidome: MHC molecules, ncRNA peptides, and vesicles in immune response. Front Immunol. 2025;16:1540431. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1540431. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2025.1540431

Ostrowski RP, Acewicz A, He Z, Pucko EB, Godlewski J. Environmental Hazards and Glial Brain Tumors: Association or Causation?. Int J Mol Sci. 2025 Aug 1;26(15). doi: 10.3390/ijms26157425. Review. PubMed PMID: 40806554; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC12347831. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40806554/

Szczepaniak A, Jaskuła K, Zielińska M, Godlewski J. Transcriptional rewiring in cancer driven by POLR2A/RPB1: mechanistic insights, non-coding RNA crosstalk, and therapeutic opportunities. Front Pharmacol. 2025;16:1745087. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1745087. eCollection 2025. Review. PubMed PMID: 41487511; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC12757387. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41487511/

2024
Kiel K, Król SK, Bronisz A, Godlewski J. MiR-128-3p - a gray eminence of the human central nervous system. Mol Ther Nucleic Acids. 2024 Feb 6;35(1):102141. doi: 10.1016/j.omtn.2024.102141. PMID: 38419943; PMCID: PMC10899074. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38419943/

Mielecki D, Godlewski J, Salinska E. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for the treatment of hypoxic/ischemic injury upon perinatal asphyxia-are we there yet?. Front Neurol. 2024;15:1386695. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2024.1386695. eCollection 2024. Review. PubMed PMID: 38685945; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11057380. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38685945/

2023
Szczepaniak A, Bronisz A, Godlewski J. Circular RNAs-New Kids on the Block in Cancer Pathophysiology and Management. Cells. 2023 Feb 8;12(4):552. doi: 10.3390/cells12040552. PMID: 36831219 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9953808/

2022
Xin Y, Chen J, Zhang H, Ostrowski RP, Liang Y, Zhao J, Xiang X, Liang F, Fu W, Huang H, Wu X, Su J, Deng J, He Z. Dexras1 Induces Dysdifferentiation of Oligodendrocytes and Myelin Injury by Inhibiting the cAMP-CREB Pathway after Subarachnoid Hemorrhage. Cells. 2022 Sep 24;11(19):2976. doi: 10.3390/cells11192976. PMID: 36230939; PMCID: PMC9564295. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36230939/

Ostrowski RP, Pucko E, Matyja E. Proteasome and Neuroprotective Effect of Hyperbaric Oxygen Preconditioning in Experimental Global Cerebral Ischemia in Rats. Front Neurol. 2022 Feb 17;13:812581. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2022.812581. PMID: 35250819; PMCID: PMC8891759. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35250819/

Pucko EB, Ostrowski RP. Inhibiting CK2 among Promising Therapeutic Strategies for Gliomas and Several Other Neoplasms. Pharmaceutics. 2022 Jan 30;14(2):331. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics14020331. PMID: 35214064; PMCID: PMC8877581. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35214064/

Ostrowski RP, Pucko EB. Harnessing oxidative stress for anti-glioma therapy. Neurochem Int. 2022 Mar;154:105281. doi: 10.1016/j.neuint.2022.105281. Epub 2022 Jan 14. PMID: 35038460. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35038460/

2021
Zhang H, Ostrowski R, Jiang D, Zhao Q, Liang Y, Che X, Zhao J, Xiang X, Qin W, He Z. Hepcidin Promoted Ferroptosis through Iron Metabolism which Is Associated with DMT1 Signaling Activation in Early Brain Injury following Subarachnoid Hemorrhage. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2021 Dec 27;2021:9800794. doi: 10.1155/2021/9800794. PMID: 34987706; PMCID: PMC8723883. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34987706/

Godlewski J, Farhath M, Ricklefs FL, Passaro C, Kiel K, Nakashima H, Chiocca EA, Bronisz A. Oncolytic Virus Therapy Alters the Secretome of Targeted Glioblastoma Cells. Cancers (Basel). 2021 Mar 14;13(6):1287. doi: 10.3390/cancers13061287. PMID: 33799381; PMCID: PMC7999647. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33799381/

Bratek-Gerej E, Ziembowicz A, Godlewski J, Salinska E. The Mechanism of the Neuroprotective Effect of Kynurenic Acid in the Experimental Model of Neonatal Hypoxia-Ischemia: The Link to Oxidative Stress. Antioxidants (Basel). 2021 Nov 5;10(11). doi: 10.3390/antiox10111775. PubMed PMID: 34829646; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8615281. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34829646/

2020
Bronisz A, Rooj AK, Krawczyński K, Peruzzi P, Salińska E, Nakano I, Purow B, Chiocca EA, Godlewski J. The nuclear DICER-circular RNA complex drives the deregulation of the glioblastoma cell microRNAome. Sci Adv. 2020 Dec 16;6(51):eabc0221. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abc0221. PMID: 33328224; PMCID: PMC7744081. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33328224/

Krawczynski K, Godlewski J, Bronisz A. Oxidative Stress-Part of the Solution or Part of the Problem in the Hypoxic Environment of a Brain Tumor. Antioxidants (Basel). 2020 Aug 14;9(8):747. doi: 10.3390/antiox9080747. PMID: 32823815; PMCID: PMC7464568. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32823815/

Bronisz A, Salińska E, Chiocca EA, Godlewski J. Hypoxic Roadmap of Glioblastoma-Learning about Directions and Distances in the Brain Tumor Environment. Cancers (Basel). 2020 May 13;12(5):1213. doi: 10.3390/cancers12051213. PMID: 32413951; PMCID: PMC7281616. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32413951/

Ostrowski RP, Pucko E, Matyja E. The effectiveness of hyperbaric oxygen modalities against vascular component of traumatic brain injury. Brain Hemorrhages. 2020; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hest.2020.04.002 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589238X20300255

2019
Zembrzuska K, Ostrowski RP, Matyja E. Hyperbaric oxygen increases glioma cell sensitivity to antitumor treatment with a novel isothiourea derivative in vitro. Oncol Rep. 2019 May;41(5):2703-2716. doi: 10.3892/or.2019.7064. Epub 2019 Mar 14. PMID: 30896865; PMCID: PMC6448092. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30896865/

Ogawa D, Ansari K, Nowicki MO, Salińska E, Bronisz A, Godlewski J. MicroRNA-451 Inhibits Migration of Glioblastoma while Making It More Susceptible to Conventional Therapy. Noncoding RNA. 2019 Mar 15;5(1):25. doi: 10.3390/ncrna5010025. PMID: 30875963; PMCID: PMC6468936. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30875963/

Xiao A, Brenneman B, Floyd D, Comeau L, Spurio K, Olmez I, Lee J, Nakano I, Godlewski J, Bronisz A, Kagaya N, Shin-Ya K, Purow B. Statins affect human glioblastoma and other cancers through TGF-β inhibition. Oncotarget. 2019 Mar 1;10(18):1716-1728. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.26733. PMID: 30899443; PMCID: PMC6422202.  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30899443/

Godlewski J, Lenart J, Salinska E. MicroRNA in Brain pathology: Neurodegeneration the Other Side of the Brain Cancer. Noncoding RNA. 2019 Feb 23;5(1):20. doi: 10.3390/ncrna5010020. PMID: 30813461; PMCID: PMC6468660.  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30813461/

Bhaskaran V, Nowicki MO, Idriss M, Jimenez MA, Lugli G, Hayes JL, Mahmoud AB, Zane RE, Passaro C, Ligon KL, Haas-Kogan D, Bronisz A, Godlewski J, Lawler SE, Chiocca EA, Peruzzi P. The functional synergism of microRNA clustering provides therapeutically relevant epigenetic interference in glioblastoma. Nat Commun. 2019 Jan 25;10(1):442. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-08390-z. PMID: 30683859; PMCID: PMC6347618.  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30683859/

2018
Ostrowski RP, Zhang JH. The insights into molecular pathways of hypoxia-inducible factor in the brain. J Neurosci Res. 2020 Jan;98(1):57-76. doi: 10.1002/jnr.24366. Epub 2018 Dec 12. PMID: 30548473. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30548473/

Olmez I, Zhang Y, Manigat L, Benamar M, Brenneman B, Nakano I, Godlewski J, Bronisz A, Lee J, Abbas T, Abounader R, Purow B. Combined c-Met/Trk Inhibition Overcomes Resistance to CDK4/6 Inhibitors in Glioblastoma. Cancer Res. 2018 Aug 1;78(15):4360-4369. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-17-3124. Epub 2018 May 29. PMID: 29844123; PMCID: PMC6072607.  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29844123/

Pucko E, Matyja E, Koronkiewicz M, Ostrowski RP, Kazimierczuk Z. Potent Antitumour Effects of Novel Pentabromobenzylisothioureas Studied on Human Glial-derived Tumour Cell Lines. Anticancer Res. 2018 May;38(5):2691-2705. doi: 10.21873/anticanres.12511. PMID: 29715089. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29715089/

Ricklefs FL, Alayo Q, Krenzlin H, Mahmoud AB, Speranza MC, Nakashima H, Hayes JL, Lee K, Balaj L, Passaro C, Rooj AK, Krasemann S, Carter BS, Chen CC, Steed T, Treiber J, Rodig S, Yang K, Nakano I, Lee H, Weissleder R, Breakefield XO, Godlewski J, Westphal M, Lamszus K, Freeman GJ, Bronisz A, Lawler SE, Chiocca EA. Immune evasion mediated by PD-L1 on glioblastoma-derived extracellular vesicles. Sci Adv. 2018 Mar 7;4(3):eaar2766. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aar2766. PMID: 29532035; PMCID: PMC5842038.  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29532035/

Olmez I, Love S, Xiao A, Manigat L, Randolph P, McKenna BD, Neal BP, Boroda S, Li M, Brenneman B, Abounader R, Floyd D, Lee J, Nakano I, Godlewski J, Bronisz A, Sulman EP, Mayo M, Gioeli D, Weber M, Harris TE, Purow B. Targeting the mesenchymal subtype in glioblastoma and other cancers via inhibition of diacylglycerol kinase alpha. Neuro Oncol. 2018 Jan 22;20(2):192-202. doi: 10.1093/neuonc/nox119. PMID: 29048560; PMCID: PMC5777487.  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29048560/

2017
Olmez I, Brenneman B, Xiao A, Serbulea V, Benamar M, Zhang Y, Manigat L, Abbas T, Lee J, Nakano I, Godlewski J, Bronisz A, Abounader R, Leitinger N, Purow B. Combined CDK4/6 and mTOR Inhibition Is Synergistic against Glioblastoma via Multiple Mechanisms. Clin Cancer Res. 2017 Nov 15;23(22):6958-6968. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-17-0803. Epub 2017 Aug 16. PMID: 28814434; PMCID: PMC5690820.  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28814434/

Ostrowski RP, Stępień K, Pucko E, Matyja E. The efficacy of hyperbaric oxygen in hemorrhagic stroke: experimental and clinical implications. Arch Med Sci. 2017 Aug;13(5):1217-1223. doi: 10.5114/aoms.2017.65081. Epub 2017 Jan 13. PMID: 28883864; PMCID: PMC5575217. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28883864/

Li M, Xiao A, Floyd D, Olmez I, Lee J, Godlewski J, Bronisz A, Bhat KPL, Sulman EP, Nakano I, Purow B. CDK4/6 inhibition is more active against the glioblastoma proneural subtype. Oncotarget. 2017 Jul 21;8(33):55319-55331. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.19429. PMID: 28903422; PMCID: PMC5589661.    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28903422/

Rooj AK, Ricklefs F, Mineo M, Nakano I, Chiocca EA, Bronisz A, Godlewski J. MicroRNA-Mediated Dynamic Bidirectional Shift between the Subclasses of Glioblastoma Stem-like Cells. Cell Rep. 2017 Jun 6;19(10):2026-2032. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2017.05.040. PMID: 28591575; PMCID: PMC5514838. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28591575/

Godlewski J, Ferrer-Luna R, Rooj AK, Mineo M, Ricklefs F, Takeda YS, Nowicki MO, Salińska E, Nakano I, Lee H, Weissleder R, Beroukhim R, Chiocca EA, Bronisz A. MicroRNA Signatures and Molecular Subtypes of Glioblastoma: The Role of Extracellular Transfer. Stem Cell Reports. 2017 Jun 6;8(6):1497-1505. doi: 10.1016/j.stemcr.2017.04.024. Epub 2017 May 18. PMID: 28528698; PMCID: PMC5470095.  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28528698/