INSTITUTE OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY - POLISH ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

Their core work

ICHO PAN is Poland's leading research institute in organic chemistry, specializing in synthetic methodology, catalysis, and molecular design. Their work spans C-H bond activation for drug development and materials science, photocatalysis and flow chemistry for industrial-scale reactions, and oligonucleotide-based therapeutics for diseases like Huntington's and cancer. They also develop nanomedicine tools including fluorescent probes and nanocarriers for biological imaging and drug delivery.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their early H2020 participation (2018-2020), ICHO PAN focused on fundamental synthetic chemistry — molecular capsules, C-H activation, and transition metal catalysis for drug development and biomass conversion. From 2021 onward, they shifted toward applied and translational topics: photocatalysis with reactor engineering for industrial scale-up, DNA-based therapeutics for specific diseases, and nanomedicine tools for imaging. The trajectory shows a clear move from methodology development toward application-oriented chemistry with biomedical and industrial endpoints.

ICHO PAN is moving from pure synthetic methodology toward translational chemistry — expect future work combining reaction engineering with therapeutic and diagnostic applications.

How they like to work

ICHO PAN participates exclusively as a partner, never as coordinator, contributing specialized chemistry expertise to large training and mobility networks. With 60 unique partners across 20 countries from just 5 projects, they operate in broad, multinational consortia typical of MSCA networks. This makes them an accessible, experienced partner comfortable working within large international teams without seeking to drive the management agenda.

Remarkably broad network for a modest project count: 60 unique partners across 20 countries, reflecting their consistent participation in large MSCA training networks. Their reach spans most of the EU with no apparent geographic bias.

What sets them apart

ICHO PAN brings the depth of a national academy institute — decades of accumulated expertise in organic synthesis — into EU collaborative networks focused on training the next generation of chemists. Their distinctive strength is bridging classical synthetic chemistry (C-H activation, catalysis) with modern application domains like photoreactor engineering and oligonucleotide therapeutics. For consortium builders, they offer a reliable Polish partner with strong fundamental chemistry credentials and experience hosting early-stage researchers.

Highlights from their portfolio

• CHAIR
  Largest funded project (EUR 227,479) with the broadest scope — connecting C-H activation chemistry to drug development, materials, and biomass valorization.
• OLIGOMED
  Represents ICHO PAN's push into biomedical territory, targeting specific diseases (Huntington's, cancer) through DNA chemistry and gene silencing — a significant departure from traditional organic synthesis.
• PhotoReAct
  Bridges academic photocatalysis with industrial reactor technology and flow chemistry, signaling interest in scalable, process-oriented chemistry.