Ryszard Slomski (Polish pronunciation: [ˈrɨ.ʂart slɔmski]; born January 21, 1950) is a Polish professor and lecturer at the Poznań University of Life Sciences.
Education Ryszard Słomski attended the Karol Marcinkowski Secondary School in Poznań, known as “Marcinek.” He graduated in 1973 from Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, where he studied biology in the Faculty of Biology and Earth Sciences. He undertook PhD studies at the Poznań University of Medical Sciences and beginning in 1974 worked under the supervision of Professor Antoni Horst in the newly opened Institute of Human Genetics of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Since 1986 he has been the deputy director for scientific affairs in the Institute of Human Genetics of the Polish Academy of Sciences. In 1992 he joined the Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology of the Agricultural Academy in Poznań, currently the Poznań University of Life Sciences, and since 1997 has headed the Department. Słomski is also an active staff member of the NanoBioMedical Centre of Adam Mickiewicz University.
Academic career In 1976 Słomski received a doctoral degree in medical sciences, and in 1982 he received a postdoctoral degree at the Poznań University of Medical Sciences. In 1990 he obtained a professorial degree. In 2000 he became a full professor at the Poznań University of Life Sciences. He set up the Laboratory of Molecular Genetics in 1992, the first private laboratory conducting DNA tests for forensic medical purposes. Słomski is a full professor, head of the Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology at the Poznań University of Life Sciences, deputy director for scientific affairs in the Institute of Human Genetics at the Polish Academy of Sciences in Poznań, expert witness in the field of human genetics and a specialist in laboratory genetics. Professor Słomski is a Polish pioneer in conducting DNA tests for diagnostic purposes and promoting molecular diagnostics. He was the first to conduct in Poland studies related to DNA fingerprinting (1987) and DNA amplification by PCR (1989). His current areas of interest include molecular diagnostics of genetic diseases, description of new human genes, biotechnology, forensic medical tests and studies on fossil DNA. Słomski has completed academic internships in numerous academic and scientific centres including La Rabida Children Hospital at the University of Chicago (1978), the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Illinois at Chicago (numerous times since 1979), the Institute of Human Genetics at the University of Göttingen as a Humboldt Foundation fellow (1990–1991), the Division of Experimental Medicine at the Harvard Medical School in Boston (1996–1997), the PienGen Biomedical Corporation in Knoxville (from 1998) and Max-Delbrück Centre for Molecular Medicine in the Gene Mapping Centre in Berlin-Buch (2002).
Scientific career Professor Ryszard Słomski organised 25 Summer Schools devoted to molecular studies on human, plant and animal DNA, attended by almost 1000 participants from all over Poland. Based on this experience, he wrote several books on DNA analysis, describing the experiments and presenting the results. The books have been very popular among academics and students dealing with DNA analysis. The last textbook, “Analiza DNA – Teoria i Praktyka” (eng “DNA Analysis – Theory and Practice”), published by the Poznań University of Life Sciences Publishing House in 2008, has been reissued a number of times. In 2008 it was awarded in the “Best university textbook and course book contest” at Book Fairs in Cracow. In 2014 Słomski wrote and edited another book, “Analiza DNA – Praktyka” (eng “DNA Analysis – Practice”), published by the Poznań University of Life Sciences Publishing House, which builds on the earlier experiments. The Poznań University of Life Sciences Publishing House received a prestigious distinction for this book in the best university textbook contest during the 18th Poznań Days of Scientific and Non-Scientific Books on October 5, 2014. He has a strong interest in the cloning of rabbits and obtaining transgenic animals, including pigs, for the purposes of xenotransplantation, based on the results of studies he conducted in cooperation with Professor Zdzisław Smorąg of the National Research Institute of Animal Production and Dr. Marek M. Pienkowski of PienGen Biomedical Corporation. Słomski has recently been participating in projects aimed at obtaining new generation bio-ethanol from sorghum and Miscanthus and developing new painkillers based on cannabinoids in cannabis. The studies are conducted in Polish laboratories. The research in the field of biotechnology resulted in a numerous patent applications in Poland and two in the USA. Słomski has been involved in research on the recreation of the extinct wild oxen called aurochs. The genetic material obtained from the available remains of the animal allowed researchers to describe its mitochondrial DNA. The difficulty in analysing the genetic material from available remains of extinct organisms emphasises the necessity to protect free ranging animals.
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