professor of chemical sciences
priority research area: HealthTech
Scientific achievements
Professor Piotr Ulański of the Faculty of Chemistry at the Lodz University of Technology is a leading expert in the field of radiation chemistry, nanotechnology and polymer biomaterials. His scientific output includes over 100 publications in prestigious JCR-listed journals and scientific monographs.
Research profile and research directions
His research interests focus on studying mechanisms of fast chemical reactions in polymer systems, as well as the development and optimization of polymer biomaterials, particularly hydrogels and their applications in the production of advanced medical devices (dressings, implants, and systems for tissue engineering and cellular layer engineering). He is the author of pioneering research on ionizing radiation-induced intramolecular crosslinking of individual macromolecules, enabling the synthesis of nanogels without any chemicals other than the macromolecule itself and a solvent. He is credited with discovering and elucidating non-classical kinetic effects and the mechanism of intramolecular cross-linking. He developed tools and methods for the controlled synthesis of nanogels and microgels based on these reactions (preparative pulsed radiolysis), including for applications as nanoradiopharmaceuticals. This method has since been adopted by many leading laboratories. He developed the radiation-induced synthesis of polymer nanogels for use as a universal carrier platform for the controlled delivery of drugs, genes, and radioisotopes. He is the author of studies on the properties of two types of nanoradiopharmaceuticals for the theranostics of prostate cancer and melanoma. He has served as the principal investigator and lead researcher on more than a dozen national and international research projects, including a NATO grant carried out in collaboration with MIT. The technology for producing hydrogel dressings for
the treatment of burns, ulcers and pressure sores has been implemented into large-scale production (allowing the treatment of approx. 15,000 people per year); the dressings are used by the U.S. Marines. The intellectual property rights to his inventions are protected by nearly 20 patents.
Honours and recognition from the scientific community
He was a fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Since 2000, he has been a consultant, and since 2007, an expert with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). On behalf of this organization, he has led expert missions to Croatia, Monaco, Pakistan, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, and Thailand, as well as numerous delegations to courses and workshops organized by the IAEA, serving as a lecturer or event coordinator. He served on the board of The Miller Trust for Radiation Chemistry (United Kingdom). He reviewed projects for the EU and the Dutch Research Council, as well as numerous doctoral dissertations and applications for professorial appointments, habilitation, and promotions both in Poland and abroad (Croatia, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Portugal, Turkey, the U.S., and Italy).