Lukasz Cieslak graduated with an MSc Eng in Biotechnology from the Technical University of Lodz in the country where he was born, Poland.
During his studies, he completed IAESTE internships in organic chemistry at the University of St Andrews (Scotland) and at the Manipal Institute of Technology (India). He went on to obtain an MSc in Technical Microbiology and subsequently undertook studies on microbially influenced corrosion risk assessment at the University of Oklahoma (USA) and University of Portsmouth (UK). He held a position as Early-Stage Researcher in the Advocate Marie Curie Initial Training Network, where he developed his PhD about “Microbial dynamics and biodegradation at the bioreactive fringe of contaminant plumes in groundwater”
In his words, the Marie Curie fellowship opened the doors to provide interesting and valuable knowledge in the field of microbiology. The opportunity to learn from the experienced researchers, attend prestige international conferences and establish an amazing network of contacts helped to further his academic career.
Why did you choose to start a PhD? What did you learn from it?
I was always interested in science, so after obtaining my master's degree, the most natural step was a step towards a PhD. During international internships I have met many great scientists, probably the most influential one was Prof. Douglas Philp (St. Andrews University), who showed me how inspirational and enjoyable research is!
Lukasz, you have produced an amazing video providing us an excellent, clear and easy understanding explanation about your research, which you can see at www.theadvocateproject.eu). But now we would like to go further and know which are your last outcomes and the following steps that you need to give.
Thank you, I am glad you have enjoyed the clip. That video really summarised the major objectives of my research. Currently, I am working on laboratory experiments, because in a controlled environment we have the opportunity to easily manipulate conditions, which would be almost impossible at the field scale. Those lab experiments will also create a comprehensive study, linking the observed results from the field to what we will observe at laboratory scale. Hopefully, this will help us to answer a few questions about how the microbial community reacts under different environmental conditions, and what can we do to keep those ingenious microorganisms at the top of their efficiency with biodegradation of contaminants in groundwater.
The idea of using microorganisms from the field in laboratory experiments is very interesting, can you tell us more about it?
Indeed, it is an exciting idea because we are not looking to improve the speed of biodegradation per se, rather we are looking for the way how microorganisms behave in the community under changing conditions and how those behaviours affect the most efficient degraders. The most rational way to test it is to use ingenious microorganisms, rather than single strains isolated in laboratories, which will behave differently in the real environment and even might not survive.
About your future, where would you like to develop your professional career? Where will you see yourself?
I would like to try myself outside academia. It might be some R&D company or industry. Of course, it would be a challenge, but I am still young and flexible :)
If you had to describe yourself in a phrase, what would it be?
'Stay hungry, stay foolish' (from Steve Jobs' commencement speech at Stanford University in 2005).
