The “Neutrophil” Student Research Group for Immunobiology of Infectious Diseases and Cancer has secured 70 000 PLN in funding under the “Student Research Groups Create Innovations” program. The funds will be allocated to the implementation of the VibrioMap project – a modern system for mapping pathogenic bacteria along the Polish coast.The project is being supervised by the Center for Experimental Immunology and Immunobiology of Infectious Diseases and Cancer at the University of Szczecin, and the project manager is dr hab. Paulina Niedźwiedzka-Rystwej, prof. US. Part of the work will be carried out in collaboration with the “Gisior” Student Research Group for Geoinformatics at the Institute of Marine and Environmental Sciences at the University of Szczecin, which will enable the development of a spatial model of the risk of Vibrio bacteria occurrence along the Polish coast.
The aim of the project is to develop comprehensive monitoring of Vibrio bacteria in Baltic waters, analyze environmental factors that favor their growth, and create a microbiological risk map for the coastline. The project responds to the current challenges of climate change, including rising water temperatures, which favor the emergence and spread of potentially pathogenic bacteria.
“The Baltic Sea is warming, and with it, the number of Vibrio bacteria is increasing. Under favorable conditions, they can cause serious infections, including cholera. In our project, we want to take a microscopic and genetic look at coastal waters to detect threats early and increase the safety of everyone enjoying the coastline,” emphasizes dr hab. Paulina Niedźwiedzka-Rystwej, prof.US.
This is the second grant awarded to the “Neutrophil” Research Group for Immunobiology of Infectious Diseases and Cancer under this program, confirming the consistent development and high quality of its research activities. The previous grants were implemented in 2024–2025. Congratulations on the implementation of such a socially significant project, the results of which may contribute to improving the health safety of people using Baltic Sea bathing areas.
