Karolina Stanczyk

Role: PhD student (MRC DTP programme)

Nationality: Polish, British

My background includes an undergraduate degree in medical biochemistry and a masters in cancer cell and molecular biology, both obtained at the University of Leicester. My Master’s project completed in the Markaki Lab focused on understanding the importance of histone deacetylation in X chromosome inactivation using human pluripotent stem cells.

My PhD is funded by the KCL MRC DTP and involved 3 rotations, after which I joined the Spagnoli lab. My PhD project investigates a hepatopancreatobiliary intermediate progenitor (IMP) cell population identified by the Spagnoli Lab. The IMPs are a multipotent progenitor subpopulation that contributes to the development of the liver, gallbladder, and pancreas. I am specifically focusing on the hepatic descendants of the IMPs and will investigate whether they have any unique properties or functions compared to surrounding hepatic cells, both during homeostasis and during liver regeneration.