Agnieszka Daca
Agnieszka Daca obtained her Ph.D. from the Medical University of Gdańsk, Poland, in 2011. Her thesis discussed immunological changes observed in the blood of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). After her PhD, Dr. Daca divided her work into two aspects. The first is the widely understood interaction between bacteria and the innate immune system (especially monocytes) in cooperation with Tomasz Jarzembowski. For this, she researches virulence traits of bacteria (especially Enterococcus faecalis) and their impact on monocytes’ behaviour. The main aspect is the monocytes’ ability to phagocytose bacteria and their impact on the human body\'s ability to eradicate bacteria, especially in immunocompromised patients. The second branch of her scientific activity is the immunology of autoimmune diseases, mainly SLE and antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis in cooperation with Prof. Alicja Dębska-Ślizień and her co-workers from the Medical University of Gdańsk.