Marta Cudzik | Medicine and Health Sciences | Research Excellence Award

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Dr. Marta Cudzik | Medicine and Health Sciences | Research Excellence Award

Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology | Poland

Dr. Marta Cudzik is a psychiatry-focused physician–researcher whose scholarly work lies at the intersection of neuroscience, emotional processing, and obesity-related mental health disorders. Her research examines how affective regulation, emotional intelligence, and trauma-related psychological mechanisms influence vulnerability to depression and other psychiatric conditions. She has authored peer-reviewed studies addressing emotional dysregulation, dissociative defense mechanisms in childhood trauma, and alexithymia among individuals with obesity, contributing clinically relevant insights to contemporary psychiatric research. A central theme of her work is the integration of psychological, neurobiological, and metabolic perspectives to better understand complex mind–body interactions. Dr. Marta Cudzik is developing an emerging interdisciplinary research direction referred to as psycho-obesitology, which seeks to bridge psychiatry and metabolic medicine through evidence-based frameworks. Her research aims to support more holistic diagnostic and therapeutic strategies in mental health, with implications for prevention, personalized treatment, and translational psychiatric care.

Profile: ORCID

Featured Publications

Cudzik, M., Lis, M., Wichniak, A., & Bieńkowski, P. (2026). Alexithymia among patients with obesity: A systematic review. Journal of Psychiatric Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2025.12.030

Cudzik, M., Soroka, E., & Olajossy, M. (2019). The impact of emotional intelligence level on depression vulnerability. Current Problems of Psychiatry, 20(3). https://doi.org/10.2478/cpp-2019-0011

Cudzik, M., Soroka, E., & Olajossy, M. (2019). Dissociative identity disorder as a wide range of defense mechanisms in children with a history of early childhood trauma. Current Problems of Psychiatry, 20(2). https://doi.org/10.2478/cpp-2019-0006

Xiaowen Mao | Medicine and Health Sciences | Best Researcher Award

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Assist. Prof. Dr. Xiaowen Mao | Medicine and Health Sciences | Best Researcher Award

University of Macau | Macau

Dr. Xiaowen Mao, M.D., Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor at the State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, University of Macau, where she leads translational research on cancer biology, immunotherapy, and tumor microenvironment modulation. She earned her Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Hong Kong and her B.Sc. in Clinical Medicine from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China. Her research focuses on extracellular vesicles, immune homeostasis, metabolic reprogramming in tumors, and hepatocellular carcinoma metastasis, integrating molecular, cellular, and translational approaches. Dr. Xiaowen Mao has led several high-impact projects as principal investigator, funded by the Health and Medical Research Fund, National Natural Science Foundation Young Scientist Fund, and FDCT Innovation and Technology Promotion. Her significant contributions include the development of broadly potent neutralizing antibodies targeting Nidogen 1 to inhibit tumor growth, elucidation of extracellular vesicle-mediated metabolic reprogramming in tumors, and advances in dendritic cell vaccine strategies. She holds a U.S. patent on Nidogen 1 as a diagnostic and therapeutic target for hepatocellular carcinoma, serves as Guest Editor for Frontiers in Endocrinology, and is an ad-hoc reviewer for multiple high-impact journals. According to Scopus, she has 31 publications, 1,114 citations by 1,010 documents, and an h-index of 20. Dr. Xiaowen Mao’s work bridges fundamental research and clinical translation, delivering innovative therapies and advancing precision medicine in oncology, while demonstrating a profound impact on cancer biology, immunotherapy, and translational research.

Profile: Scopus

Featured Publications

  • Xue, T. M., Yeung, C. L. S., Mao, X. W., Tey, S. K., Lo, K. W., Tang, H. N., Yun, J. P., & Yam, J. W. P. (2025). Development of a broadly potent neutralizing antibody targeting Nidogen 1 effectively inhibits cancer growth and metastasis in preclinical tumor models. Journal of Translational Internal Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1515/jtim-2025-0008

  • Xia, L., Li, C. G., Zhao, J., Sun, Q. C., & Mao, X. W.* (2025). Rebalancing immune homeostasis in combating disease: The impact of medicine food homology plants and gut microbiome. Phytomedicine, 136, 156150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phymed.2025.156150

  • Chen, Z., Yam, J. W. P., & Mao, X. W.* (2024). The multifaceted roles of small extracellular vesicles in metabolic reprogramming in the tumor microenvironments. Proteomics, e2300021. https://doi.org/10.1002/pmic.202300021

  • Lee, K. W., Yam, J. W. P., & Mao, X. W.* (2023). Dendritic cell vaccines: A shift from conventional approach to new generations. Cells, 12(2147). https://doi.org/10.3390/cells12172147

  • Li, S., Delvecchio, M., Ramkumar, K., Mao, X. W., Sun, X. D., & Guo, S. Z. (2023). Editorial: Clinical and genetic determinants of diabetes and complications. Frontiers in Endocrinology.