Urszula Alicja Foryś

Urszula Alicja Foryś
Born1965 (age 59–60)
Warsaw, Poland
Alma materUniversity of Warsaw (MSc, PhD), Polish Academy of Sciences (DSc)
Known forMathematical modeling in biology and medicine; cancer therapy modeling
AwardsHugo Steinhaus Award (2025)
Scientific career
FieldsApplied mathematics, Mathematical biology, Biomedical engineering
InstitutionsUniversity of Warsaw
Doctoral advisorAndrzej Palczewski (after Wiesław Szlenk)[1]
Doctoral studentsJan Poleszczuk (2014,2015), Piotr Bajger (2021), Marcin Choinski(2022)[1]
Websitemimuw.edu.pl/~urszula

Urszula Alicja Foryś (born 1965 in Warsaw, Poland) is a Polish mathematician specializing in applied mathematics, mathematical biology, and biomedical engineering. She is a professor at the University of Warsaw and is known for her research on mathematical modeling of cancer therapy and biological dynamical systems. Foryś has supervised numerous doctoral students, including Jan Poleszczuk, and is a laureate of the Polish Mathematical Society's Hugo Steinhaus Award (2025). She is also an accomplished powerlifting athlete.

Early life and education

Foryś attended Primary School No. 1 and Jan Śniadecki High School XXX in Warsaw. In 1989 she received a Master of Science degree with honours in applied mathematics from the University of Warsaw's Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Mechanics (MIM), under the supervision of Wiesław Szlenk. She completed her Ph.D. in 1996 with the dissertation Global analysis of the Marczuk model for the immune organism and the immunodeficient organism, supervised by Szlenk and, following his death, by Andrzej Palczewski.[1]

In 2007, she received her habilitation (D.Sc.) in biocybernetics and biomedical engineering from the Nałęcz Institute of Biocybernetics and Biomedical Engineering, Polish Academy of Sciences, for the dissertation Mathematical modelling of tumour development taking into account various stages of tumour growth. On 20 June 2018, the President of the Republic of Poland conferred on her the title of professor of mathematical sciences.[2]

Academic career

Since 1989 Foryś has worked at the Institute of Applied Mathematics and Mechanics (MIM), University of Warsaw, where she advanced from junior assistant to full professor (2019). She currently leads the Division of Biomathematics and Game Theory, which she helped establish in 2013.[3]

She has held visiting positions at the China University of Geosciences in Wuhan (2011–2014) and has collaborated with numerous research centers, including the Autonomous University of Barcelona, the Institute for Medical Biomathematics in Bene Atarot, Israel, and the University of Dundee in Scotland. She was also a member of the Cooperation Group "Multiscale Modeling of Tumor Initiation, Growth and Progression" at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research (ZiF) of Bielefeld University.[4]

In 2019–2020 she carried out research at the Institute for Medical Biomathematics (Israel) under the Bekker Programme of the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA).[5]

Research

Foryś's research focuses on applications of finite- and infinite-dimensional dynamical systems to biomedicine, ecology, and social sciences. Her scientific output includes about 100 research papers indexed in MathSciNet and zbMATH, as well as educational and outreach publications. She is the author of the textbook Matematyka w biologii (Mathematics in Biology, WNT, 2005),[6] and the co-translator (with Marek Bodnar) of James D. Murray's Mathematical Biology I: An Introduction into Polish (PWN, 2006).[7]

She has collaborated with international teams on cancer therapy modeling, including studies on CAR-T cell therapy for glioblastoma[8] and hormone-sensitive prostate cancer treatment.[9]

Her doctoral students include Jan Poleszczuk (2014,2015), Piotr Bajger (2021), and Marcin Choinski(2022).[10]

Professional and community service

Foryś is a founding member of the European Society for Mathematical and Theoretical Biology (ESMTB)[11] and participated in the first European Conference on Mathematics Applied to Biology and Medicine (L'Alpe d'Huez, 1991). She has served in leadership roles within the Polish Mathematical Society (PTM), including as president of its Warsaw Branch (2019–2023) and vice-president (2023–2025). She is also an editor of Mathematica Applicanda and organized the exhibition *On Mathematics and Mathematicians* in the Senate of Poland (2019).[12]

She co-founded and serves as vice-president of the Polish Women in Mathematics Association(PTKwM) since 2016,[13] and since 2024 has been a member of the Commission on Mathematical Applications of the Polish Academy of Sciences. She also chairs the Scientific Committee of the National Conference on Mathematical Applications in Biology and Medicine (KKZMBM).[14]

Sports career

Outside academia, Foryś is an experienced powerlifter, representing TKKF Herkules Warszawa. She is a multiple Polish champion, European Masters II Champion (2015), and World Vice-Champion Masters III (2025).[15]

Awards

References

  1. ^ a b c "Urszula Forys - The Mathematics Genealogy Project". genealogy.math.ndsu.nodak.edu. Retrieved 2025-10-23.
  2. ^ "Resolution of the President of the Republic of Poland of 20 June 2018, No. 115.8.2018" (PDF). Monitor Polski. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  3. ^ "Zakład Biomatematyki i Teorii Gier – MIM UW". University of Warsaw. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  4. ^ "Cooperation Group – Multiscale Modeling of Tumor Initiation, Growth and Progression". Bielefeld University. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  5. ^ "NAWA Bekker Programme – Urszula Foryś". Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  6. ^ Foryś, Urszula (2005). Matematyka w biologii. Warsaw: Wydawnictwa Naukowo-Techniczne. ISBN 83-204-3123-9.
  7. ^ Murray, James D. (2002). Mathematical Biology: An Introduction. Translated by Urszula Foryś, Marek Bodnar (3rd ed.). Springer. ISBN 978-0-387-22437-4.
  8. ^ Szafrańska-Łęczycka, Magdalena; Szymańska, Zuzanna; Piotrowska, Monika J.; Bodnar, Marek; Foryś, Urszula (2025). "CAR-T cell therapy for glioblastoma: insight from mathematical modeling". Frontiers in Immunology. 16 1563829. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2025.1563829. PMC 12213547. PMID 40607424.
  9. ^ Foryś, Urszula; Nahshony, Alon; Elishmereni, Moran (2022). "Mathematical model of hormone sensitive prostate cancer treatment using leuprolide: A small step towards personalization". PLOS ONE. 17 (2) e0263648. Bibcode:2022PLoSO..1763648F. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0263648. PMC 8846544. PMID 35167616.
  10. ^ "Ludzie Nauki – Urszula Foryś". Ludzie Nauki. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  11. ^ "European Society for Mathematical and Theoretical Biology – History". ESMTB. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  12. ^ "Polish Mathematical Society – Warsaw Branch". PTM. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  13. ^ "Polish Women in Mathematics – About us". PTKwM. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  14. ^ "KKZMBM – National Conference on Mathematical Applications in Biology and Medicine". Polish Mathematical Society. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  15. ^ "International Powerlifting Federation – 2025 Bench Press Championships, Drammen". IPF. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
  16. ^ "Hugo Steinhaus Award – Polish Mathematical Society". PTM. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
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