Contact

malgorzata.kalinka@pwr.edu.pl 
L-1, room 29
LinkedIn

Research

My research focuses on dissecting the molecular mechanisms of programmed cell death, with a particular emphasis on pyroptosis and the enzymatic pathways that regulate it. This work aims to deepen our understanding of inflammatory forms of cell death that play critical roles in diseases such as cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, and infections.

To investigate these pathways, I employ a range of advanced cell-based assay techniques, including real-time live-cell imaging using the IncuCyte system, confocal microscopy, and mass cytometry. I also work with fluorophore-labeled activity-based probes, selective enzyme inhibitors, and recombinant proteins to study enzyme function and activation dynamics.

In addition, I perform SDS-PAGE electrophoresis and Western blotting to analyze protein expression and processing. For functional analysis, I use LDH cytotoxicity assays, MTT cell viability assays, and fluorescence-based detection of apoptosis and necrosis—employing markers such as Propidium Iodide (PI), Annexin V, and Caspase-3/7 activity indicators.

Education and research internships

2020-ongoing PhD student in Chemical Sciences, , Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Chemistry, Department of Chemical Biology and Bioimaging, Wrocław,

2017 – 2019 MSc in Biotechnology, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Poland,

Specialization: Pharmaceutical biotechnology, Thesis: Synthesis of diamines for optoelectronics applications

2017 – 2018 MSc in Chemistry, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Poland, Specialization: Environmental and Food Analytics, Thesis: Development of method of elemental analysis of vegetable juices using flame atomic absorption spectrometry

2013 – 2017 BSc in Engineering in Biotechnology, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Poland, Thesis: Preparation of cDNA encoding human otolin-1

Publications and patents

Ćwilichowska-Puślecka N, Makowiecka A. M, Kalinka M, Groborz K. M,  Puślecki T, Drąg M, Simon K, Dąbrowska K, Pazgan-Simon M,  Poręba M. Ł, Understanding the long-term interplay of SARS-CoV-2 immune and inflammatory responses with proteases in COVID-19 recovery: a longitudinal study. Frontiers in Immunology. 2025, vol. 16, s. 1-19 DOI: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2025.03.002

Horbach N, Kalinka M, Ćwilichowska-Puślecka N,  Al Mamun A, Mikołajczyk-Martinez A, Turk B,  Snipas S, Kasperkiewicz P., Groborz K. M, Poręba M,  Visualization of calpain-1 activation during cell death and its role in GSDMD cleavage using chemical probes. Cell Chemical Biology. 2025, vol. 32, nr 4, s. 603-619  DOI: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2025.03.002

Groborz K. M, Kalinka M, Grzymska J, Kołt S, Snipas S. J, Poręba M, Selective chemical reagents to investigate the role of caspase 6 in apoptosis in acute leukemia T cells. Chemical Science. 2023, vol. 14, nr 9, s. 2289-2302 DOI: 10.1039/d2sc05827h

Pohl P, Kalinka M, Pieprz M, Development of a very simple and fast analytical methodology for FAAS/FAES measurements of Ca, K, Mg and Na in red beetroot juices along with chemical fractionation of Ca and Mg by solid phase extraction. Microchemical Journal. 2019, vol. 147, s. 538-544 DOI: 10.1016/j.microc.2019.03.075

Conferences and courses

EMBL Course: Fundamentals of widefield and confocal microscopy and imaging, 2023, EMBL Advanced Training Centre, Heidelberg, 04 - 08 December 2023

Małgorzata Kalinka, Stefan Gerhardy, Scott Snipas, Guy Salvesen, Daniel Kirchhofer, Marcin Poręba, Paulina Kasperkiewicz , Alternative pathways of GSDMD processing, 12th General Meeting of the International Proteolysis Society, Singapore, 23-29 June 2023 (flash talk and poster)

Małgorzata Kalinka, Betsaida Bibo-Verdugo, Boris Turk, Guy Salvesen, and Marcin Poręba, Dissecting the proteolytic crosstalk between caspases and cysteine cathepsins in cell death, Gordon Research Conference on Cell Death, Les Diablerets Conference Center in Les Diablerets, Vaud (fr), Switzerland, 15-20 May 2022, poster

Małgorzata Kalinka, Katarzyna Groborz, Scott Snipas, Guy Salvesen, Marcin Drąg, Marcin Poręba, Caspase selective reagents for diagnosing pyroptotic mechanisms, Gordon Research Seminar on Cell Death, Les Diablerets Conference Center in Les Diablerets, Vaud (fr), Switzerland ,14-15 May 2022, poster

Małgorzata Kalinka, Katarzyna Groborz, Marcin Poręba, Caspase selective reagents for diagnosing pyroptotic mechanisms, Precision medicine for inflammatory diseases, 9th Bergen Research School of Inflammation, Myrkdalen, Norway, 16-18 March 2022, oral presentation

Małgorzata Kalinka, Katarzyna Groborz, Justyna Grzymska, Sonia Kołt, Scott Snipas, Marcin Poręba, Selective chemical reagents to investigate the role of caspase 6 in apoptosis in acute leukemia T cells, 39th Winter School on Proteinases and Inhibitors (online), Tiers, Italy, 16-18 February 2022, oral presentation

Małgorzata Kalinka , Katarzyna Groborz, Marcin Drąg, Marcin Poręba, Badanie mechanizmów śmierci komórki za pomocą cytometrii masowej, 63. Zjazd Naukowy Polskiego Towarzystwa Chemicznego, Łódź, 13-17 września 2021, poster