Career Development

Michal Szymanski obtained his Ph.D. degree in 2011 through our Structural Biology / Biophysics graduate track at UTMB. Currently, he is an Associate Professor and the Head of Structural Biology Laboratory at University of Gdansk, Poland.

During his Ph.D. work at UTMB, Michal conducted kinetic and thermodynamic investigations of protein-DNA interactions using fluorescence spectroscopy under the supervision of Prof. Wlodzimierz Bujalowski. Michal’s Ph.D. work was very successful: he published 17 papers in the Bujalowski lab! Michal received a postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Prof. Whitney Yin at UTMB and learned X-ray crystallography there. Michal determined several crystal structures of enzymes and their DNA complexes involved in replication and repair of mitochondrial DNA. These structures were published in prestigious journals such as PNAS, EMBO Journal, and Nature Communications. 

In 2017, Michal started his own research group at University of Gdansk in his home country, Poland. As an Associate Professor, Michal supervises 11 people in his laboratory, including postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and undergraduate students. Michal and his team are studying large macromolecular machines involved in DNA replication and repair processes. This research theme continues throughout Michal’s career since his Ph.D. work at UTMB.

To learn more about Michal’s career, visit his lab website.

Alexandre Esadze received his Ph.D. degree in 2014 through our Structural Biology / Biophysics graduate program track at UTMB. He is currently working as a Principal Scientist at Pfizer, Inc.

During his Ph.D. study at UTMB, Alex conducted biophysical studies of protein-DNA interactions in the laboratory of Prof. Junji Iwahara. Using NMR spectroscopy, stopped-flow fluorescence, and other biophysical methods, Alex investigated how a zinc-finger transcription factor Egr-1 scans DNA and locates its target sequence among numerous different sequences. Alex published many research articles in prestigious journals such as JACS, Nucleic Acids Research, and PNAS. After completing his research at UTMB, Alex received a postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Prof. James Stivers at Johns Hopkins University. There, Alex studied how DNA-repair enzymes scan genomic DNA in the nuclei. His work was supported by a fellowship from the American Heart Association.

In 2019, Alex joined Pfizer as a Senior Scientist. With his biophysical expertise, Alex characterizes antibody-antigen interactions related to COVID-19, Lyme disease, and other diseases as part of vaccine R&D at Pfizer. In 2022, Alex was promoted to the rank of Principal Scientist. His current career in the pharmaceutical company is taking full advantage of the expertise developed through our Structural Biology / Biophysics graduate program track at UTMB.

To learn more about Alex’s career, visit his Linked-In webpage.