Alan Gasiński: – I found my place at the UPWr Doctoral School

• Alan Gasiński wrote his bachelor’s thesis about pudding, and his master's thesis was on meads. Now he is working on a new food product 
• The PhD student of prof. Kawa-Rygielska got in on the second attempt. For a year he worked at the university as an assistant and laboratory technician 
• Prof. Kawa-Rygielska: – Doctoral students are the showcase of the Doctoral School, but their work is not only focused on succeeding. They have the right to make mistakes, mature, become independent and gain experience

Alan Gasiński is a graduate of human nutrition. He obtained the title of engineer by designing pudding recipes with increased content of dietary fiber. He wanted to become a nutritionist, but he decided that he was more interested in food technology. For his master's studies he chose the specialization: "fermentation technology", although he also considered biotechnology. 

In the beginning there was... pudding 

– I must honestly admit that as a student I was rather lazy and I would call myself a “bum” – Alan laughs and adds that, probably in spite of his laziness, he completed his bachelor’s thesis at a rapid pace. – I had the pleasure of being under the care of Prof. Golachowski, and the subject of my thesis was "Determining the possibility of adding fiber to pudding", so basically an analysis of whether high-fiber additives can be used in the production of this product, increasing its nutritional values. I created recipes in which the basic raw materials necessary to produce pudding, such as, milk and potato starch, psyllium, lanceolate, wheat bran or pure cellulose were added. And, of course, I had to try all these puddings, because organoleptic evaluation was also an important element of mu research – Alan disarmingly admits that he wouldn’t recommend some of the variants produced for his thesis. – After developing the recipes, I produced the desserts and then tested and evaluated them organoleptically. I proved that it is indeed possible to improve the nutritional value of this type of dessert in a fairly uncomplicated way – says Alan Gasiński, who studied mead during his master's studies and reveals that there is a kind of historical dispute between mead makers and brewers about which of these drinks fermented was previously produced by man. Both mead and beer production technology are interesting, but according to Alan, brewing seems to be a bit more complex. 

In his master's thesis, which he wrote under the supervision of prof. Joanna Kawa-Rygielska and in cooperation with prof. Alicja Kucharska, Alan developed mead with increased antioxidant activity. He used a by-product called dogwood seeds. The graduate was looking to answer the question whether the use of ground seeds in the production of mead would change its antioxidant activity. It turned out that the mead produced with this technology had several times higher antioxidant activity, and the additive had a positive effect on the yeast. While working on the mead, Alan became much more interested in fermentation, and seeing that this process was used in many aspects of food technology, he began to seriously consider continuing his scientific work. 

Studying the university 

– To put it briefly: I caught the bug. But unfortunately, a bit too late. Just when my master's studies were ending, the recruitment process for the standard PhD studies was also ending, and recruitment to the Doctoral School was to take place for the first time. And the requirement criteria for candidates were much more complicated. You can't get in empty-handed, so to speak. You need to have publications, preferably also projects, and have worked with research teams. Also, under the old rules, the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences could take in 32 people, but under the new rules, there can only be 30 PhD students admitted into the Doctoral School a year – says Alan, who didn’t abandon his plans, however. One of the employees was leaving the Department of Fermentation and Grain Technology for a scientific internship in Sweden, so there was hope to find a place at UPWr. This way, Alan began working in the unit – as an assistant and laboratory technician. And today he says that it was an excellent school of life and profession. 

– I got to see how the university works and got to know the laboratory of the Department of Fermentation and Grain Technology from the inside out. It seems to me that if I hadn't worked there, it would have been harder for me at the Doctoral School. I had the pleasure to work with more complex equipment than during my studies, such as gas chromatography combined with mass spectrometry, or had a chance to undertake much more complex experiments than as a student. I am currently in the third year of my PhD, but two years were mainly online classes. So when the recruitment for the school was ongoing, candidates could not come to the university, and during the first, longest lockdown, I had to take care of everything in the laboratory, and this perspective – today I know – gave me a lot – says Alan Gasiński, who initially considered researching the impact of the type of hops used and the type of hopping on the aroma of beer in his doctoral dissertation, but during his work at the Department and many weeks spent working along prof. Błażewicz, a malt brewer with decades of experience, decided to focus on malting. And not malting barley or other traditionally malted grains, but legumes. 

A PhD student at the Doctoral School must know what he wants and what he strives for in his research. At the very beginning of his career, he should not only meet certain criteria, but also have some scientific achievements, such as: publications, participation in projects, experience in working in a research team. 

Malting is a complex biochemical process, the main purpose of which is to produce and activate enzymes in the seeds, which, traditionally, are then used in brewing to produce wort. However, this process also changes the texture of the raw material, taste, smell and the content of various spare ingredients and bioactive substances. 

– In a nutshell, the idea is to stop the process of "awakening" the seeds to life by means of drying at the right moment to obtain a durable product with the properties we are interested in. The enzymatic activity of malt is much higher than that of unmodified seeds, and moreover, malting increases the content of various health-promoting substances or improving the taste and aroma. We have just published an article in which we showed that the content of raffinose and stachyose, sugars that can cause problems in the human gastric system, can be reduced by up to 20 times, down to trace amounts, thanks to malting – says Alan and adds that legume seeds are the basis of a vegetarian and vegan diet, because they provide the body with vegetable protein, and thanks to malting, their carbohydrate content decreases, so effectively in one hundred grams of bean or pea malt there is more protein than in unmalted seeds. And this is an opportunity to create a new type of food addressed to a specific group of recipients. 

Maturity and dialogue 

PhD student of prof. Kawa-Rygielska, when asked about what the Doctoral School has given him, answers without hesitation: – Freedom in research. But also the possibility to develop. The University has funds for the School to finance training and courses to improve qualifications. I received significant funds to go to Berlin to Versuch- und Lehranstalt für Brauerei in Berlin (the so-called VLB Berlin), a Mecca of brewers working with the Berlin University of Technology. This is the global support center for leading breweries. Not only do they teach brewing there, but they also associate breweries, malt houses and companies producing beverages from around the world (such as, for example, Heineken or Coca-Cola), carry out research and standardization for them, and solve their technological problems. 

Prof. Joanna Kawa-Rygielska, Alan's supervisor, admits that it would be difficult to find the funds necessary for the doctoral student's internship from the department's budget. – The internal method of financing through the Doctoral School is a great solution. Thanks to it, we can send PhD students to courses and training in Poland and abroad, because we want them to be a showcase of both the school and the university - emphasizes prof. Kawa-Rygielska. 

A PhD student at the Doctoral School must know what he wants and what he strives for in his research. At the very beginning of his career, he should not only meet certain criteria, but also have some scientific achievements, such as: publications, participation in projects, experience in working in a research team. – At the beginning, Alan was employed by us as a technical worker, he got to know not only our laboratories, but also our work. His willingness to create new ideas and write publications was noticeable very quickly. It was obvious that he had the potential to complete the appropriate achievements in a short time, which allowed him to apply to the Doctoral School – says prof. Kawa-Rygielska, praising her doctoral student not only for creativity, but also for openness to dialogue.

Both the thesis supervisor and the PhD student admit that mentoring is a necessary process of maturing to scientific independence. In the first stages of this process, the role of the mentor is in fact the role of a teacher, supporting, but also guarding and often leading by the hand. But at the next stages, when the PhD student gains experience, this relationship becomes more and more partnership-based and based on dialogue. 

– Alan often comes with his ideas, he wants to discuss them and you can see that he needs space for his creativity. In our team, each doctoral student is different and needs a different type of support. But this is also the strength of the team we have managed to create, because it so happens that everyone here is different and brings different ideas and skills - explains Prof. Joanna Kawa-Rygielska and after a while adds with a smile that she once thought that the supervisor's role was to make sure that the doctoral student did not make mistakes while working on their PhD. Today, she knows that every slip or fall in scientific work, and especially at the beginning of this path, makes sense, because it’s a lesson from which experience is gained. 

– Alan has proven himself to be a person who can be trusted. When he takes up a challenge, he not only has an idea for it, but also tries to implement it, which brings results in the form of publications. If these activities, one after another, are successful for him, it means that he doesn’t need to be led by hand, but should be allowed to be independent – emphasizes prof. Joanna Kawa-Rygielska, and Alan Gasiński admits that when he is given room to show off, he needs to be reigned in and given the appropriate form and frame.

– I’m glad that I have found a niche for myself – malting. There are few malt makers in Poland, in Polish science. In this regard, I am very grateful to Prof. Błażewicz, who explained to me the intricacies of malting for the past two years, and answered any questions that bothered me. These conversations actually gave me the idea to try malting different seeds. There are still many things to do in this regard, not only the problem that I intend to explore in my PhD dissertation – smiles Alan Gasiński, who still has a year and a half to defend his thesis.

• 

  Objective? To improve future geodetic satellite missions

  Joanna Najder, a PhD student at the UPWr Doctoral School, researches simulations of orbits and global geodetic parameters for future geodetic satellite missions.

• 

  Are medicinal plants the future of medicine?

  Prof. Mehdi Rahimmalek joins forces with UPWr scientists to research the health benefits of Iranian native species of Lamiaceae and Apiaceae plants in a project lead under the NAWA Programme.