Paweł Kozielewicz

Paweł Kozielewicz

Assistant Professor | Team Leader
Visiting address: Solnavägen 9, Biomedicum, 17165 Solna
Postal address: C3 Fysiologi och farmakologi, C3 FyFa Receptorbiologi Molekylär farmakologi av G protein-kopplade receptorer, 171 77 Stockholm
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About me

  • I graduated with a Master’s of Pharmacy degree from the Medical University of Warsaw, Poland. Next, I did my PhD as a Marie Curie Fellow with Prof. Nicholas M. Barnes at the University of Birmingham and Celentyx Ltd., UK (immunological and neuropharmacological studies on therapeutical drugs and targets, including orphan G protein-coupled receptors, GPCRs).

    I had my first post-doctoral stay in the lab of Prof. Agnieszka Chacinska at the IIMCB, Warsaw, Poland (protein biogenesis in synaptoneurosomes). In August 2017, I joined Prof. Gunnar Schulte's lab for my second post-doc (pharmacology of class F Frizzleds GPCRs).

    In February 2022, I received a habilitation/higher doctorate, equivalent to docentur, in medical sciences from the Medical University of Lublin, Poland. 

    In December 2023, I was appointed Assistant Professor, and since May 2024, I have been a team leader: please see Molecular pharmacology of GPCRs and external lab website.

Research

  • In my post-doctoral research in the Schulte lab, I focused on exploring the pharmacology of class F (Frizzleds) GPCRs by employing structural-functional analysis. It can be argued that, given certain ambiguities which exist about the molecular mechanism of action of these proteins, Frizzleds are similar to another class of the seven transmembrane-spanning receptors: orphan GPCRs. As such, in my current research, I investigate the role of orphan GPCRs in health and disease. For several diseases, some previous findings about a few orphan GPCRs have not been followed up by more thorough reports. Hence, the precise nature of orphan GPCRs' signalling and its association with a diseased state at a molecular level remain largely unknown. I aim to address these gaps in knowledge to push novel opportunities for therapies.

    Please check Molecular pharmacology of GPCRs website for more information.

    Vacant positions

    If you are a prospective postdoc with skills in GPCRs pharmacology, I am happy to support joint fellowship applications (e.g. Wenner-Gren, DFG - Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft), whether based on several developed projects or project ideas in my group, or centered around your concepts.

Teaching

  • All at Karolinska Institutet:

    2025 – present: Deputy Programme Director, The Global Master’s Programme in Translational Physiology and Pharmacology

    2023 – present: director of the elective Advanced Receptor Pharmacology course (4 hp); The Global Master’s Programme in Translational Physiology and Pharmacology

    2022 – present: seminars on pharmacokinetics; Pharmacology and Toxicology course; Bachelor's Programme in Biomedicine
    2021 – present: supervision of students in the project on a literature search of a public health-related question; BV1 course; Läkarprogrammet
    2019 – 2022: seminars on pharmacokinetics and pharmacology of receptors; DSM2.1 course, Gamla läkarprogrammet

    2022 – completion of a “Teaching and learning in higher education, distance” course (Grundläggande högskolepedagogik, distant, 5 weeks).

Articles

All other publications

Grants

  • Proof-of-concept studies to propose an orphan G protein-coupled receptor GPR61 as a novel target in metabolic disorders
    SRP Diabetes Blue Sky Grant 2025
    1 May 2025 - 31 December 2026
  • Understanding the role of orphan GPCR GPR61 in obesity
    Karolinska Institutet Research Foundation
    25 November 2024 - 24 November 2026
  • Targeting G protein-coupled receptors in cancers
    Karolinska Institutet
    10 October 2024 - 9 October 2027
  • GPR34, GPR65 and GPR183 as therapeutic targets in blood cancers
    Jeansson Foundation
    13 December 2023 - 12 December 2024
  • Swedish Research Council
    1 January 2023 - 31 December 2026
    G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) constitute 30% of all drug targets and are often overexpressed and mutated in cancer, including haematological disorders. There is an immediate need for better treatment for patients suffering from peripheral blood cancers. For example, 41% of people diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma are predicted to survive less than 10 years. In the proposed project, I will focus on the GPCRs GPR34, GPR65 and GPR183. I have selected these three receptors based on the current literature and my preliminary data which support the hypothesis that they can be potential therapeutic targets. To test my assumptions, I will develop and employ novel biophysical BRET-based tools to assess ligand-induced conformational changes in GPR34/65/183 together with receptor-mediated G protein activation and recruitment of intracellular transducer proteins. These assays will be used to test the activity of small ligands predicted from large in silico screenings. Subsequently, I will analyse if up- or down-regulation, and mutations in GPR34/65/183 influence the functions of in vitro cultured cells of haematological origin and healthy B- and T-cells. My research will provide the first complexed insight into the role of these GPCRs in malignant and normal blood cells, and will aid the discovery of novel compounds with exciting prospects as anti-cancer drugs

Employments

  • Assistant Professor, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, 2023-2029

Degrees and Education

  • Habilitation in Medical Sciences, Medical University of Lublin, 2022
  • PhD in Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Birmingham, 2017
  • Master's of Pharmacy, Medical University of Warsaw, 2013

Leadership and responsibility assignments

  • Deputy Programme Director, The Global Master's Programme in Translational Physiology and Pharmacology, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, 2025-
  • Team Leader, Molecular Pharmacology of GPCRs, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, 2024-

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