Between June 17th-19th 2026, the Nicolaus Copernicus University hosted the 4th International Conference Chemistry for Beauty and Health. The event was organised by the NATBIOMED research group, created at the IAS within the Institute's Priority Research Areas.
The Amicus Universitatis Nicolai Copernici Foundation was the partner of the conference. The conference was held under the patronage of the Polish Biomaterials Association and the Polish Chemical Society. Honorary patronage was provided by His Magnificence the Rector of the NCU, Professor Andrzej Tretyn, and the Dean of the Faculty of Chemistry, Professor Urszula Kiełkowska. The Mayor of Toruń, Paweł Gulewski, also provided patronage for the conference.
The meetings and accompanying events of the conference took place in various venues on the campus: at Od Nowa, the Chemistry Faculty, the Copernican Integration Centre, as well as the IAS.
Over three days, participants were invited to closed plenary lectures, two sessions for young researchers, two poster sessions, as well as lectures delivered by the participants themselves. The topics covered during the conference included cosmetics chemistry, cosmetology, pharmaceutical chemistry, food chemistry and renewable energy sources. Discussions focused on new achievements and trends within the mentioned areas.
The conference was opened by Professor Alina Sionkowska, the Chair of the Organising Committee, while Professor Przemysław Żywiczyński, the Director of IAS@NCU, delivered an opening speech.
The conference was attended by 75 participants from multiple countries. The closed plenary lectures were delivered by:
Professor Ketul C. Popat
George Mason University, Department of Bioengineering, USA
Professor Michel Grisel
University of Le Havre Normandie, Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry Research Unit, France
Assistant Professor Roberta Maia Sabino
University of Wyoming, Department of Chemical & Biomedical Engineering, USA
Associate Professor Aiman Abu Ammar
Azrieli College of Engineering Jerusalem, Department of Pharmaceutical Engineering, Israel
Professor Frederic Guittard
Université Côte d’Azur, Nice, France
Dr. Poonam Singh Nigam
School of Biomedical Sciences at The University of Ulster, Northern Ireland
Dr. Gulzar Muhammad
Government College University Lahore, Pakistan
Professor Valentine I. Vullev
University of California, Riverside, USA
In total, 38 posters were presented and 33 oral contributions were made, of which 15 were delivered by young researchers. The presentations made by PhD students and undergraduates were judged by an international jury to select the best one. The winner of the competition for the best oral presentation in the young researchers’ session was Adrian Grzonka from the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, whilst the winner of the competition for the best poster was Ewelina Szlęzak from the AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków. The jury also decided to honour the following researchers: Aleksandra Rosińska, Jakub Reczkowski, Mainak Chaudhuri, Tetiana Prokopchuk, Tuba, Dawid Dubiel.
The organisation committee: Alina Sionkowska, Katarzyna Lewandowska, Elżbieta Sikora, Aleksandra Radtke, Paweł Kowalczyk, Adrian Topolski, Patrycja Brudzyńska, Karolina Kulka-Kamińska, Muhammad Tahir, Tuba and Ranjama Thachangade.
