The award-winning researcher works on the most current research topics in the search for novel analytical tools for the diagnosis of neurological diseases.
Depending on the physiology, development and/or the pathology of cells and tissue, the set of involved metabolites varies, which is why metabolomics is currently a vigorously growing research field. Metabolomic studies facilitate prediction of the course of the disease and early diagnosis by enabling identification of predictive markers, inhibition of disease progression as well as selection and customization of the most effective supplementation and treatment. It is important in these studies to use sensitive, selective, and complementary analytical techniques so that metabolites with different physicochemical properties can be determined.
The main strand in dr inż. Paulina Gątarek's investigations at the Institute of General and Ecological Chemistry involves chromatographic techniques and their application in determining and identifying selected metabolites in body fluids of autistic children and Parkinson's disease (PD) patients.
The ultimate goal of her research was to find new diagnostic and prognostic indicators, which she sought to do by employing a variety of biostatistical approaches. Additionally, the researcher also tried to assess metabolic disorders and the effect that supplementation exerted on the concentrations of specific metabolites and on the severity of the presenting symptoms of the disease.
The research was done in collaboration with the medical professionals from the Centrum Diagnozy i Terapii Autyzmu Navicula w Łodzi [the Navicula Center for the Diagnosis and Therapy of Autism] and physicians from the Department of Neurology and Brain Strokes at the University Clinical Hospital of the Military Academy of Medicine (WAM) - Central Veterans Hospital in Łódź.
It was these areas of scholarly interest that informed the successful preparation of the award-winning doctoral dissertation Oznaczanie wybranych metabolitów w płynach ustrojowych z wykorzystaniem technik chromatograficznych [Chromatographic determination of selected metabolites in body fluids]. Prof. Joanna Kałużna-Czaplińska supervised the doctoral project, whereas prof. dr hab. Renata Gadzała-Kopciuch, from the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, and dr hab. Magdalena Biesaga, from the University of Warsaw, reviewed the dissertation.
Dr inż. Paulina Gątarek has co-authored 20 publications published in JCR-indexed scientific journals as well as three monographs, including a chapter in an English-language monograph published by Springer Nature. She has presented the findings of her research at national and international conferences. She has twice been awarded departmental grants from the Fund for Young Scientists.