“Fishing for Cancer. Zebrafish in a hospital”– lecture by Prof. Przemko Tylżanowski as part of the scientific series entitled “Thursdays with Science”
On 29 January 2026, another meeting was held as part of the ‘Thursdays with Science’ series, organised under the patronage of Prof. Agnieszka Piastowska-Ciesielska, Vice-Rector for Science at the Medical University of Lodz. The guest of the event was Prof. Przemko Tylżanowski, PhD, an eminent expert in the field of developmental biology and animal models, representing KU Leuven in Belgium and the Medical University of Lublin.
The main theme of the lecture was the use of the zebrafish model in modern oncology and biomedical research. The lecture, entitled ‘Fishing for Cancer. Zebrafish in a hospital’, introduced the audience to the potential of this small organism in the process of personalising cancer therapies.
The meeting was hybrid in nature and attracted a large group of participants, both in person at the BraIn Laboratory Complex and online, where many employees and students of the Medical University of Łódź took part in the lecture. The high turnout confirmed the importance of combining face-to-face meetings with remote access and the keen interest in topics at the intersection of science and clinical practice.
The key point of the presentation was a discussion of the concept of so-called patient ‘avatars’. This method involves taking cancer cells from a patient – for example, during a biopsy – and then implanting them into a fish. This makes it possible to quickly test the effectiveness of various chemotherapy regimens directly on the biological material of a specific patient, without exposing them to the side effects of unsuccessful treatment.
The meeting ended with a question and answer session, during which participants raised issues related to the role of the immune system, in particular macrophages, and methodological challenges in the study of solid tumours.
Prof. Przemko Tylżanowski’s lecture proved to be not only a solid dose of the latest medical knowledge, but also an inspiration for young scientists to seek innovative solutions in the fight against the most difficult diseases of our time.
We invite you to the next meeting as part of ‘Thursdays with Science’ on 19 February.
