habilitated doctor the discipline of food and nutrition technology
priority research area: MoleculeTech
Scientific achievements
Dr Hab. Eng. Małgorzata Zakłos-Szyda, Professor at Lodz University of Technology, from the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, is a specialist in food technology and nutrition, the biological activity of phytocompounds, and in vitro cell-based research. Her scientific output includes 46 publications indexed in the JCR database. In her scientific activity, she combines research on functional foods, cellular metabolism, signal transduction, and the prevention of diet-related diseases.
Research profile and research directions
Her scientific interests focus on the identification and characterization of phytocompounds that may be used as functional food ingredients supporting the prevention of metabolic diseases, such as insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, obesity, osteoporosis, and neurodegenerative disorders. Dr Hab. Zakłos-Szyda specializes in studies using in vitro cell cultures, including both primary human and animal cells as well as immortalized cell lines.
Among her most significant achievements is a series of studies on Viburnum opulus polyphenols, which revealed their molecular mechanisms of action in the area of carbohydrate and lipid metabolism. Another important direction of her research was demonstrating that phenolic compounds present in edible plants, including Brassica junceaand Matricaria chamomilla, may limit fructose uptake by cells through interaction with the GLUT5 transporter, which may be relevant to the prevention of metabolic diseases and colorectal cancer.
Honours and recognition from the scientific community
Dr Hab. Małgorzata Zakłos-Szyda has served, among others, as principal investigator of a MINIATURA scientific activity concerning the influence of selected phytocompounds on fructose metabolism, and as a main investigator responsible for cell-based studies in projects concerning the biological activity of legume seeds, Viburnum opulus fruit constituents, coffee hydroxycinnamic acids, and the prebiotic potential of Plantago ovata mucilage.
Her research also has an applied dimension. She is a co-author of a patent concerning a method for obtaining dry extracts of triterpenes and fibre and their use as ingredients in food products.
In 2024, she was selected as a laureate of an EIT Food competition, which enabled her to complete a one-month internship at the European Institute of Innovation & Technology in Bilbao, focused on developing cooperation between the industrial, educational, and research sectors in the area of food beneficial to health and the environment.