Maciej Kliszczak

Maciej, originally from Poland, studied Biotechnology with a specialization in Medicinal Chemistry at the Wroclaw University of Science and Technology (PWr) (2002-2007). His MSc/MEng project, supervised by Prof. Jozef Oleksyszyn and Dr. Marcin Sienczyk, focused on designing, synthesizing, and testing small molecule inhibitors of serine proteases as potential cancer growth inhibitors. During this time, Maciej also gained his first cell biology experience in Dr. Michael P. Carty's lab at the National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG) (2006-2007), where he studied the effects of protease inhibitors on cancer cell survival and explored how Polymerase Eta deficiency impacts DNA repair in human cells.

After successfully defending his Master's project (2007), Maciej pursued a Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) degree at NUIG (2007-2011) under Prof. Ciaran Morrison, investigating the roles of the Smc5/6 complex in DNA repair. Following this, he moved to the University of Copenhagen to work with Prof. Ian D. Hickson on the roles of the RECQL4 helicase in human aging (2011-2015).

A few years later, Maciej relocated to Oxford, where he began postdoctoral research in the laboratories of Prof. Andrew Wilkie and Prof. Wojciech Niedzwiedz, studying the impact of CDC45 mutations on craniosynostosis pathology (2015-2016). He then joined the Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC) at University of Oxford (2016-2018), working with Dr. Nicola Burgess-Brown on small molecule screening and protein production methods.

When SGC transitioned into the Centre for Medicines Discovery (CMD), Maciej moved to the Centre for Human Genetics (CHG) at the University of Oxford (2018-2022) to collaborate with Dr. Catherine M. Green (honoured with Order of the British Empire [OBE] for leading production of the first COVID-19 vaccine). In the Chromosome Dynamics Laboratory he investigated the cellular mechanisms of FAM111B serine protease, which mutations cause Hereditary Fibrosing Poikiloderma (HFP).

From 2022 to 2025, Maciej rejoined CMD as a member of the Organelle Biology Laboratory led by Dr. Margarida Ruas based at the Oxford Drug Discovery Institute (ODDI), world-renowned for its pioneering work in dementia drug discovery. During this time Maciej had led small molecule and genetic screening projects aimed at discovering novel targets and treatments for neurodegenerative diseases.

In 2025, Maciej transitioned back to CHG at the University of Oxford, where he took on a role at the Cellular Imaging Core Facility (CICF) and is currently supporting and developing fluorescence imaging solutions for life sciences.

Kliszczak M., Moralli D., Jankowska J.D., Bryjka P., Subha Meem L., Goncalves T., Hester S.S., Fischer R., Clynes D., Green C.M. (2023). Loss of FAM111B protease mutated in hereditary fibrosing poikiloderma negatively regulates telomere length. Front Cell Dev Biol. 11:1175069.

Bulbrook D., Brazier H., Mahajan P., Kliszczak M., Fedorov O., Marchese F.P., Aubareda A., Chalk R., Picaud S., Strain-Damerell C., Filippakopoulos P., Gileadi O., Clark AR., Yue W.W., Burgess-Brown N.A., Dean J.L.E. (2017). Tryptophan-Mediated Interactions between Tristetraprolin and the CNOT9 Subunit Are Required for CCR4-NOT Deadenylase Complex Recruitment. J Mol Biol. 430(5):722-736.

¥Fenwick, A.L., ¥Kliszczak M., et al. (2016). Mutations in CDC45, encoding en essential component of the pre-initiation complex, cause Meier-Gorlin syndrome and craniosynostosis. American Journal for Human Genetics 99, 125-138.

Kliszczak, M., Sedlackova, H., Pitchai, G.P., Streicher, W.W., Krejci, L. and Hickson, I.D. (2015). Interaction of RECQ4 and MCM10 is important for efficient DNA replication origin firing in human cells. Oncotarget 6, 40464-40479.

¥Kliszczak, M., ¥Stephan A.K. Flanagan A.M. and Morrison C.G. (2012). SUMO ligase activity of vertebrate Mms21/Nse2 is required for efficient DNA repair but not for Smc5/6 complex stability. DNA repair 11, 799-810.

¥Stephan, A.K., ¥Kliszczak, M., Dodson, H., Cooley, C., and Morrison, C.G. (2011). Roles of vertebrate Smc5 in sister chromatid cohesion and homologous recombinational repair. Molecular and Cellular Biology 31, 1369-1381.

¥Stephan, A.K., ¥Kliszczak, M., and Morrison, C.G. (2011). The Nse2/Mms21 SUMO ligase of the Smc5/6 complex in the maintenance of genome stability. FEBS Letters 585, 2907-2913.

Sienczyk, M., Kliszczak, M., and Oleksyszyn, J . (2006). Synthesis of isocyanide derivatives of alpha-aminoalkylphosphonate diphenyl esters. Tetrahedron Letters 47, 4209-4211.

¥ - joint first authorship