Prof. Krzysztof Wędzony, PhD

With deep regret and sadness

notify that on November 19, 2016.

has left us

late.

Professor Dr.

KRZYSZTOF WĘDZONY

Director for many years, head of the Department of Pharmacology and member of the Scientific Council of the Institute of Pharmacology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Krakow.
Corresponding member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences, member of the Committee on Neurobiology of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Committee on Physiological and Pharmacological Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences, member of the Scientific Council of the Lomonosov Institute of Experimental and Clinical Medicine. M. Mossakovsky of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Scientific Council of the Mossakovsky Institute of Experimental Biology. M. Nencki PAS in Warsaw, chairman of the Editorial Board of the scientific journal Pharmacological Reports. Honored with many awards for scientific achievements. Awarded the Gold Cross of Merit.

In the Deceased we lose an outstanding Scientist, a great organizer of science, an excellent neuropharmacologist and neurobiologist for many years associated with the Institute of Pharmacology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Krakow and greatly contributed to its development. An extremely righteous, sensitive and kind-hearted Man, who enjoyed great authority, affection and appreciation of his colleagues and co-workers.

To the family of the deceased, we extend our heartfelt condolences.

Management, Scientific Council and employees

Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Krakow

*Farewell speech delivered at the funeral ceremony on November 25, 2016.

Dear Family of the Deceased, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am speaking on behalf of the staff, management and Scientific Council of the Institute of Pharmacology of the Polish Academy of Sciences. The sudden, unexpected passing of Professor Krzysztof Wędzony, a long-time Director, is a tremendously painful event and an irreparable loss for all of us. It is impossible in a short farewell to mention the scientific achievements and outstanding contributions of Professor Wędzony to the development of the Institute. So let me remind you of the most important ones.

Professor Krzysztof Wędzony was a man of comprehensive knowledge and a scientist of international repute, the recipient of many awards. He was characterized by creative imagination, originality of scientific concepts, an irrepressible passion for research, intuition and, last but not least, perseverance. He has bequeathed us an impressive scientific output, including more than 120 outstanding publications in prestigious journals. His valuable discoveries about the mechanisms of brain function form a solid basis for designing more effective antipsychotic and antidepressant drugs, as well as drugs useful in addiction treatment. He initiated new directions in psychopharmacological research, fruitfully developed by his students.

It is difficult to overestimate the merits of Prof. Wędzony for the development of the Institute of Pharmacology. With great panache and organizational talent, he planned and carried out a general modernization and expansion of the Institute, so that the current Institute stands out for both its aesthetic architectural design and functionality. He paid a lot of attention to domestic and foreign cooperation, the implementation of new methods, equipping plants with the latest research equipment and training young staff. He energetically and successfully obtained funding for the Institute through national and European research projects. He established the high position of the Institute of Pharmacology in the ranking of scientific institutions, as evidenced by the unit’s status as a National Scientific Leading Center. As a member of Scientific Councils, Committees and Societies, as well as inter-institute consortia, he served his expertise and fought tenaciously for the rightful place of science in the public space and its proper funding. As Director, he enjoyed well-deserved authority and respect among his subordinates. He was fair, responsible, but also demanding. He did not tolerate sham, wasted time and unreliability in scientific work.

First and foremost, we will remember Krzysztof as a wonderful Colleague and Friend with an arch-interesting and exuberant personality. He was a warm, righteous and noble man. His kindness, openness to the problems of others, and at the same time his witty humor, tinged with self-irony, won him widespread sympathy. He loved the mountains. In his spare time, he enjoyed mountain hiking, downhill skiing and outdoor photography. He valued good literature and was an accomplished connoisseur of painting, classical and modern music.

In closing, I would like to express my deepest sympathy to Krzysztof’s family.

We bid you farewell with great sorrow Dear Krzysztof!

Wladyslaw Lason

Due to the unexpected passing of Prof. PhD Krzysztof Wędzony condolences were sent by:

* Sebastian Tracz, Director of the Institute of Animal Systematics and Evolution.

* Phil Skolnick, Director, Division of Therapeutics & Medical Consequences, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health.

* Ramon Trullas, Research Professor, Neurobiology Unit, Institute for Biomedical Research of Barcelona, IDIBAPS CSIC.

* Malgorzata Witko, Director of the St. Thomas Institute for Catalysis and Surface Physicochemistry. J. Haber PAN in Krakow

* Directorate and Scientific Council of the Institute of Literary Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

* Michal Toborek,Leonard M. Miller Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Professor and Vice-Chair for Research, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Miami School of Medicine

* Prof. Ryszard Korbut, Head of the Department of Pharmacology at UJCM, together with his team

* Wojciech Danysz

* Prof. PhD Adam Plasnik, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology

* Dr. Katarzyna Lukasiuk, associate professor, secretary of the Neurobiology Committee.

* Prof. Ewa Obuchowicz with the team of the Department of Pharmacology of the Faculty of Medicine in Katowice of the Silesian Medical University.

* Prof. PhD Elzbieta Pyza, Head of the Department of Cell Biology and Imaging, Institute of Zoology at the Jagiellonian University, President of the ZG PTP im. Copernicus

* Prof. PhD Marek Jeżabek, Director of the Tchaikovsky Institute of Nuclear Physics. H. Niewodniczanski PAN

* Prof. PhD Jerzy Samochowiec, Prorector for Scientific Affairs. Science of the Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin

* The management and staff of the Institute of Medical Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Lodz, Poland.

* Prof. PhD Wojciech Macyk, Associate Dean for Research and Cooperation, Jagiellonian University. Research and Collaboration, Jagiellonian University, Head of the Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry

* Prof. PhD Piotr Kuśtrowski, Dean of the Faculty of Chemistry, Jagiellonian University

* Prof. PhD Róża Julia Wisniewska, Bialystok Branch of the Polish Pharmacological Society, Head of the Department of Pharmacology, Medical University of Bialystok

* Prof. PhD Daria Orszulak-Michalak, Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Lodz, Poland

* Prof. Dr. Elzbieta Nowakowska and Associates of the Department of Pharmacoeconomics and Community Pharmacy of the Medical University of Lviv. K. Marcinkowski in Poznań

* prof. PhD Piotr Zielenkiewicz, Chairman of the RDJN of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Director of the Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics of the Polish Academy of Sciences

* Employees of the Department and the Department of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology at the Medical University of Lublin, Prof. PhD Waldemar Turski

* Prof. Dr. Ryszard Brus, professor emeritus of the Silesian Medical University

* SELVITA S.A. Board of Directors and Employees.

Condolences were also posted in the press. They expressed their grief and sympathy in this way:

Directorate and Staff of the International Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology in Warsaw, Poland

Board of Directors of the Polish Society for Nervous System Research

Team of the Laboratory of Pharmacology and Brain Biostructure of the IF PAN (1)

Team of the Laboratory of Pharmacology and Brain Biostructure of the IF PAN (2)

The Directorate, Scientific Council and Employees of the Institute of Catalysis and Surface Physicochemistry of im. J. Haber PAS

The Directorate, Scientific Council and a large number of friends and employees of the M. K. Institute of Experimental and Clinical Medicine. M. Mossakowski PAS

Directorate and Scientific Council of the Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology

Committee on Neurobiology of the Polish Academy of Sciences

Dean, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Members of the Faculty of Medical Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences and Faculty staff