Scholarships for our students

Four medical students from Wroclaw Medical University have been awarded the Minister of Health Scholarship for the 2025/2026 academic year. Elżbieta Bartoszewska, Katarzyna Herbetko, Dominik Krupka, and Kacper Żełabowski were recognized for their outstanding scientific achievements.

In the 2025/2026 academic year, the Minister of Health awarded 40 scholarships. A total of 120 applications submitted by university rectors were evaluated. Experts focused primarily on the scientific value and innovation of the candidates’ achievements, as well as their actual contribution to the presented projects and publications. The new selection rules emphasized quality over quantity.

Among the awardees are four students from Wroclaw Medical University:

Elżbieta Bartoszewska
A sixth-year medical student whose research interests include hematology, cardiology—particularly cardiomyopathies—and psychology. She served as Vice-President of the Student Research Group of Cancer Cell Biology and was involved as a volunteer in the Welcome Center and the “Move Your Heart” campaign.
She is the author and co-author of nine articles published in international scientific journals, including six as first author, as well as three book chapters, one as first author. She has presented her work at numerous national conferences and contributed to the development of patient databases presented at forums of the European Society of Cardiology. Her academic development has also been shaped by international internships in Bulgaria, Italy, and Japan.
In the future, she plans to continue her research activity and develop her interests in cardiology. She aims to pursue a career in internal medicine, cardiology, or pediatric cardiology, and is also considering involvement in international medical aid programs.

Katarzyna Herbetko
A sixth-year medical student and a first-year PhD candidate at the UMW Doctoral School. Since the beginning of her studies, she has been actively involved in research focused on cancer biology and translational medicine. She is a member of the Student Research Group of Cancer Cell Biology and the Student Research Group of Transplantology and Advanced Therapies for Heart Failure.
Her interests focus on oncology, particularly molecular mechanisms of carcinogenesis and modern therapeutic approaches. She is also engaged in clinical and molecular data analysis to improve patient stratification and support the development of personalized medicine. She values the humanistic dimension of medicine, especially the doctor–patient relationship and communication.
She is the author and co-author of 24 publications in renowned international journals (with a combined IF exceeding 80), including 15 as first author. She was also a recipient of the Minister of Health Scholarship in the previous academic year.
Her PhD research focuses on colorectal cancer, therapeutic strategies, and clinical data analysis. She plans to specialize in clinical oncology, combining research with medical practice.

Dominik Krupka
A sixth-year medical student who joined the Student Research Group of Transplantology and Advanced Therapies for Heart Failure in his third year. He contributed to a project involving the development of a registry of patients requiring left ventricular assist devices or heart transplantation. He served as the group’s president for two years and was involved in projects on cardiogenic shock.
He is the author and co-author of 12 publications in international journals with a combined Impact Factor of approximately 28, including five as first author—among them a series of three papers on cardiogenic shock. He has also co-authored conference presentations, some of which he presented himself. He also highlights organizing 14 table football tournaments as an important part of his academic experience.
In the future, he is considering pursuing a PhD and engaging in teaching, but primarily aims to build his career as a clinician. His interests include endocrinology, angiology, and rheumatology, while maintaining a balance between professional and personal life.

Kacper Żełabowski
A third-year medical student and founder and president of the Student Research Group of Psychopharmacology, where he conducts research and publications on modern psychiatric pharmacotherapy. He is also involved in the Department of Psychiatry and serves on the board of the Student Research Group of Psychiatry.
His interests focus on novel drugs and therapies for schizophrenia, treatment-resistant depression, and insomnia. He actively reviews manuscripts for international journals in clinical pharmacology, sleep medicine, and pharmacovigilance. He is particularly interested in drugs in advanced stages of clinical trials and therapies more widely used abroad than in Poland. He is also developing skills in data analysis and research methodology, including meta-analyses and advanced statistical approaches.
He plans to specialize in adult psychiatry and continue developing in psychopharmacology. Thanks to an individualized study program, he is already advancing his research and analytical competencies. Outside medicine, he is interested in astronomy, religious studies, and travel in the Middle East.

Photo: Students’ archive / Tomasz Modrzejewski