IChF Interdisciplinary Center for Translational Research included in the Polish Roadmap for Research Infrastructures

The Interdisciplinary Center for Translational Research in Advanced Medical Technologies, developed at the Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences (IChF), has been included in the Polish Roadmap for Research Infrastructures. This places it among Poland’s strategic research infrastructures of particular importance to the development of Polish science, innovation, and the economy. 

The Ministry of Science and Higher Education announced the results of the call on August 5, 2026. Of the 192 applications submitted, 183 passed the formal assessment and proceeded to substantive evaluation. Each application was assessed by the Advisory Committee for the Polish Roadmap for Research Infrastructures and two external experts, including one international expert. The assessment considered, among other factors, the infrastructure’s uniqueness at the national and international levels, the applicant’s institutional and human resources, interest from the scientific and business communities, alignment with national and international research, development, and innovation policies, and prospects for international cooperation. Ultimately, the 104 highest-rated infrastructures were included in the Roadmap. Following the update, it comprises a total of 165 strategic research infrastructures. 

The development of advanced medical technologies increasingly takes place at the intersection of different scientific disciplines. Addressing complex diagnostic and therapeutic challenges requires combining expertise in chemistry, physics, biology, and medicine with technological capabilities. For more than a decade, IChF has been consistently pursuing this direction, expanding its activities into new areas of research related to medicine and healthcare. 

The Interdisciplinary Center for Translational Research in Advanced Medical Technologies will create the conditions for research spanning the entire process, from fundamental discovery through technology development and validation to solutions with clinical and commercial potential. The Center will also provide a space for collaboration with healthcare institutions, MedTech companies, and national and international partners. Its infrastructure will support the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic technologies, projects conducted jointly with industry, industrial PhD projects, and the commercialization of research results. 

“One of the greatest challenges facing science today, not only in Poland, is to shorten the distance between fundamental research and tangible impact: clinical, societal, and economic. We want the Interdisciplinary Center for Translational Research to become part of the response to this challenge: a place rooted in Poland, yet operating within the international circulation of knowledge, technology, and talent. A place where science, business, and society engage in dialogue, resulting in innovations that respond to real needs and are implemented in a sustainable way that recognizes the value of scientific work, institutional effort, and business risk,” emphasized Prof. Adam Kubas, Director of the Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences. 

The Center will build on IChF’s extensive scientific resources. Research related to medical technologies is conducted at the Institute in areas including biophotonics and imaging, microfluidics, tissue engineering, biomimetic systems, biological and medicinal chemistry, biospectroscopy, and new diagnostic and therapeutic methods. Research teams have access to specialized infrastructure, including laboratories for microfluidics and microfabrication, electron microscopy, NMR spectroscopy, surface analysis, structural research, and soft matter research. The Center will integrate these resources and facilitate access to specialized equipment, expertise, and technology transfer support. 

IChF already has experience in advancing research results from the laboratory to clinical applications and commercialization. Eye imaging technologies developed at the International Center for Translational Eye Research (ICTER) are currently being advanced by InCellVu, and prototypes of a diagnostic device have been tested in clinical settings in Bydgoszcz and Glasgow. Microfluidic platforms developed by Dr. Jan Guzowski’s team that reproduce vascularized human tissues in vitro, intended, among other applications, for drug testing, are being commercialized by the spin-off Living Networks. One of the most significant examples of technology transfer is Scope Fluidics, which originated from research conducted at IChF. In 2022, the company sold Curiosity Diagnostics to Bio-Rad for USD 130 million. 

The Center’s ambition is to use this experience to create an integrated model of translational research in Poland, drawing on solutions used by leading institutions in Europe and the United States. The Center will bring together scientific staff, specialized infrastructure, and the Institute’s experience in securing funding, collaborating with industry, and commercialization. Areas to be developed will include new eye imaging technologies, organ-on-chip platforms and biomimetic systems, the use of unnatural amino acids in drug design, antibody-drug conjugates in cancer therapies, mRNA technologies, and advanced spectroscopic methods for pathogen identification. 

International cooperation will be an important element of the Center’s development. IChF collaborates with leading research institutions in Europe and beyond, including through ICTER and the PERFECTION ERA Chairs project, and has been a member of the EIT Health network since 2024. The Institute’s strategic partner is the Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology in Jena, Germany. These partnerships provide access to international expertise and experience in research, infrastructure management, industry collaboration, and technology transfer. 

Inclusion in the Polish Roadmap for Research Infrastructures gives the Interdisciplinary Center for Translational Research in Advanced Medical Technologies at IChF the status of a strategic research infrastructure. It thereby opens up new opportunities for its long-term development and for securing funding to expand and modernize its research facilities.