Thanks to a Fulbright STEM Impact Award grant, the researcher will spend several weeks at Boston University in the laboratory of James Galagan.

Mruk, who works at the Department of Microbiology at the University of Gdańsk, studies bacterial genetic networks, complex systems that regulate gene expression and determine whether microorganisms survive under specific conditions.

“For years, I have been studying horizontal gene flow, or the exchange of genetic material between bacteria. This is a key mechanism for antibiotic resistance and the bacteria's ability to cause disease,” she explains.

Her current research focuses on understanding how bacterial genetic networks function and how they control whether particular genes are switched on or off depending on environmental conditions.

“They can be compared to the nervous system in the human body,” Mruk adds.

The researcher says she is particularly interested in how these networks are controlled by regulatory molecules such as transcription factors — small DNA-binding proteins that influence gene activity.

“These networks provide an almost unlimited pool of potential precise targets for new molecular therapies,” she says.

During her stay in Boston, Mruk will use modern bioinformatics methods to model bacterial genetic networks based on high-throughput experimental data.

“This will allow us to understand the network's architecture, discover its new components, and identify key nodes and weakest links,” she explains.

The aim is to determine which elements are essential for bacterial survival and could become targets for precision therapies, offering an alternative to broadly acting antibiotics.

Mruk also points to the growing importance of bioinformatics and machine learning in analysing the vast datasets produced by modern molecular biology experiments.

“We create virtual models that allow us to study how groups of genes work together, which of them are superior, and how their activity changes in response to external signals. It is a bit like analysing a complex electrical network - to turn off the current, you have to find the right component,” she adds.

Regulatory molecules function as a kind of command centre in bacterial cells, she says, determining which virulence factors are produced and in what quantities.

“They control, among other things, bacterial adhesion to epithelial cells, the formation of biofilms, and the production of bacterial toxins,” she emphasises.

Mruk also highlights the genetic plasticity of bacteria — their ability to rapidly reorganise their genomes by acquiring DNA from the environment, other bacteria or viruses.

“This allows bacteria to adapt to new conditions, even in very unfavourable environments, which promotes the development of antibiotic resistance and may increase the pathogenic potential of some strains,” she adds.

According to the researcher, the visit to the United States is not only an opportunity to carry out a research project but also to establish long-term collaboration.

“I want to share the knowledge I will have gained with students and colleagues, and I hope that new inspirations and scientific contacts will translate into new ideas for future projects,” she says.

Galagan, who will host the project at Boston University’s Department of Biomedical Engineering, is a leading specialist in systems biology and bioengineering, focusing on research that integrates experimental and computational data using machine learning.

His work has contributed to the development of a comprehensive description of genetic networks in Escherichia coli K-12, published in the journal Nature Communications in 2025, and in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, described in Nature in 2013.

Piotr Mirowicz (PAP)

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