Transitions in development – an interview with Aleksandra Pękowska

Aleksandra Pękowska leads the Dioscuri Center for Chromatin Biology and Epigenomics at the Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw, Poland, where she studies the role of astrocytes in brain development. Her research connects astrocyte chromatin architecture to broader questions about how these glial cells have influenced human brain evolution. We met Aleksandra over Zoom to discuss her career path so far. She told us about how she came to work on nervous system development, the interdisciplinary nature of her research group, and how she almost ended up studying law at university.