Bio

Marta Szachniuk is a Professor of Engineering and Technical Sciences at the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, and the Institute of Computing Science, Poznan University of Technology. After training in computing science and mathematics, she did her Ph.D. and habilitation in computing science, major: bioinformatics. She was the recipient of a Ph.D. Fellowship at Max-Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry (Goettingen, Germany), and a visiting researcher at CSIRO (the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Clayton, Australia) and IASI-CNR (Institute of Systems Analysis and Computer Science „A. Ruberti”, National Research Council, Rome, Italy). Marta Szachniuk is the head of the Department of Structural Bioinformatics at IBCH PAS. Her lab focuses on RNA structural bioinformatics. A core part of this research is developing models and computational methods for RNA structure prediction and analysis. They form RNApolis, a virtual lab for RNA research, whose flagship is RNAComposer – a world-renowned and award-winning system for 3D RNA structure prediction.

Professional education

  • M.Sc. in Computing Science (major: Computer Decision Support Systems), Poznan University of Technology; 21.10.1998
  • M.Sc. in Mathematics, Poznan University of Technology; 7.10.1999
  • Ph.D. with distinction in Computing Science (major: Computational Biology and Bioinformatics), Poznan University of Technology; 21.06.2005
  • Dr. habil. (D.Sc.) in Computing Science (major: Bioinformatics), Poznan University of Technology; 13.10.2015
  • Titular Professor of Engineering and Technical Sciences (scientific title awarded by the President of the Republic of Poland); 11.05.2020

Honors & Awards

Awards

  • 2006: EURO Doctoral Dissertation Award for the best doctoral dissertation in Europe in the field of Operations Research (diploma)
  • 2006: Scientific award for the best doctoral dissertation granted by the Rector of Poznan University of Technology
  • 2009: Scientific award for the best experimental work in computational sciences (RNA FRABASE) granted by the IBCh PAS Research Council
  • 2013: Scientific award for the best experimental work in computational sciences (RNAComposer) granted by the IBCh PAS Research Council
  • 2017: Award for outstanding scientific achievements (Computational methods to recognize and model RNA 3D structures) granted by the Polish Academy of Sciences – Division IV (Engineering Sciences) (diploma)
  • 2019: Scientific award for the best experimental work in computational sciences (algorithms for pseudoknots) granted by the IBCh PAS Research Council
  • 2019: Scientific award (2nd degree) for „New computational methods in RNA structural bioinformatics” granted by the Rector of Poznan University of Technology
  • 2020: Scientific award for the best experimental work in computational sciences (RNAvista) granted by the IBCh PAS Research Council
  • 2020: Nomination for the Polish Intelligent Development Award „Scientist of the Future 2021” under the patronage of the President of the Patent Office of the Republic of Poland, in the category „Science and technology for the innovative future” (diploma)
  • 2021: Scientific award for the best experimental work in computational sciences (ONZ classification of G4s) granted by the IBCh PAS Research Council
  • 2019, 2023: Awards for outstanding didactic achievements granted by the Rector of Poznan University of Technology
  • 2016, 2021, 2023: Awards for outstanding scientific achievements granted by the Rector of Poznan University of Technology
  • 2023: Bronze Cross of Merit (state award granted by the President of the Republic of Poland for meritorious activities in the development of science) – M.P. 2023 poz. 1291

Distinctions

  • 2009–2015: Member of the Managing Board of the EURO CBBM (EURO Working Group on Operations Research in Computational Biology, Bioinformatics and Medicine)
  • 2011–2022: Vice president of the PTBI (Polish Bioinformatics Society; 4 terms)
  • 2013: RNA FRABASE announced one of the most outstanding achievements in the Dept. of Computing Science PUT
  • 2016–present: Vice chair of the EURO CBBM (EURO Working Group on Operations Research in Computational Biology, Bioinformatics and Medicine)
  • April 2017: Highly Cited Paper: Miao et al., RNA 2016, was placed in the top 1% of the academic field of Biology & Biochemistry based on a highly cited threshold for the field and publication year (source: Web of Science)
  • August 2017: Highly Cited Paper: Popenda et al., NAR 2012, was placed in the top 1% of the academic field of Biology & Biochemistry based on a highly cited threshold for the field and publication year (source: Web of Science)
  • October 2017: Highly Cited Paper: Miao et al., RNA 2017, was placed in the top 1% of the academic field of Biology & Biochemistry based on a highly cited threshold for the field and publication year (source: Web of Science)
  • 2022: 3rd place in the RNA prediction category of CASP15

Memberships

Scientific societies

  • ECCO: European Chapter on Combinatorial Optimization; member (since 2011)
  • EURO CBBM: EURO Working Group on Operations Research in Computational Biology, Bioinformatics and Medicine; founding member (since 2006); member of the Managing Board (2009–2015); vice chair (since 2016)
  • G4S: The G4 Society; member (since 2019)
  • PTBI: Polskie Towarzystwo Bioinformatyczne (PBIS: Polish Bioinformatics Society); founding member (since 2008); vice president (2011–2022; 4 terms)
  • SNOB: Sekcja Nauk Obliczeniowych, Bio i Neuroinformatyki Komitetu Informatyki PAN (Section of Computational Sciences, Bio- and Neuroinformatics, Committee of Computer Science of the Polish Academy of Sciences); section expert, associate member (since 2020)
  • IEEE CIS: IEEE Computational Intelligence Society; member (2005–2007)
  • IEEE WiE: IEEE Women in Engineering; member (2005–2007)

Scientific committees and councils

  • KBiIB PAN: Komitet Biocybernetyki i Inżynierii Biomedycznej Polskiej Akademii Nauk (Committee of Biocybernetics and Biomedical Engineering of the Polish Academy of Sciences); member (2020–2023)
  • Rada Kuratorów Wydziału IV Nauk Technicznych PAN (Council of Provosts of Division IV Engineering Sciences, PAS); member (2023-2026)
  • Rada Naukowa Instytutu Chemii Bioorganicznej Polskiej Akademii Nauk (Scientific Board of the IBCH PAS); member (since 2022; 2 terms)
  • Rada Fundacji Wspierania Leczenia Spersonalizowanego „Genofuturi” (Board of the Foundation for the Support of Personalized Medicine „Genofuturi”); chairman (2022–2023)

Other