Katarzyna Starowicz

The Head of Pain Lab is a neuropharmacologist leading a research group based at the Institute of Pharmacology Polish Academy of Sciences (www.if-pan.krakow.pl). Katarzyna has a longstanding interest in the area of pain and analgesia, particularly in understanding of the functional significance of endovanilloid involvement in nociceptive transmission at supraspinal and spinal level. Her interests focus on bridging large gaps in the field of pain neurobiology concerning the pathomechanisms of chronic pain with the aim to pinpoint novel targets for the development of new pain therapies.

She was awarded MSc degree in Biotechnology from the Jagiellonian University in 2000. In October the same year, she was awarded an open position under The Utrecht University International Doctoral Program and in April 2005 she successfully presented her PhD in Pharmacology at the Utrecht University, the Netherlands. In 2005 she became a postdoctoral fellow under the supervision of Prof. Vincenzo Di Marzo at the Endacannabinoid Research Group ICB CNR, Pozzuoli, Italy. After completing the postdoctoral fellowship, in October 2007 she was awarded a “Homing” research grant by the Foundation for Polish Science which allowed her to combine her research interests in TRPV1 receptor/endovanilloid system with a wide range of problems addressed towards neuropathic pain in a lab run by prof. Barbara Przewłocka.

Subsequently, her research interests expanded to the issue of degenerative joint disease (osteoarthritis, OA), that is the most common joint pathology, as well as the most common cause of pain and disabilities in the populations of developed countries. In a multi-disciplinary research her group reported that a fully synthetic piperazinylcarbamate TRPV1/FAAH blocker effectively counteracts OA pain [Malek et al., Pain. 2015; 156(5):890-903.]

Dr. Starowicz published many scientific journal articles, and book chapters. She is a member of the British Journal of Pharmacology Editorial Board. She also serves as a reviewer for several scientific journals (including e.g. Brain Research Bulletin, PLoS ONE, European Journal of Pain, Neuroscience Letters, Pharmacological Reports, Pharmacological Research).

Katarzyna is a member of:

European Neuropeptide Club (ENC, since 2002)

European Opioid Club (EOC, since 2002)

Polish Chapter of IASP (PTBB, since 2004)

International Cannabinoid Research Society (ICRS, since 2005)

Society for Neuroscience (SFN, since 2007);

International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP, since 2010)

Special Interest Group on Neuropathic Pain (NeuPSIG, since 2010)

British Pharmacological Society (BPS, since 2013)