xxvi
Contributors
Alina Krystynowicz. was. employed. in. 1962. as. an.
academic. teacher. at. the. Institute. of. Technical.
Biochemistry. at. the. Technical. University. of. Lodz,.
where. in. 1974. she. received. her. PhD.. Although. she.
retired.in.2002,.she.has.continued.her.research.activities.. Her. scientific. interests. include. the. synthesis. of.
enzymes.from.microbial.sources.(e.g.,.amylases.and.
lipases). for. large-scale. applications. in. industry. and.
environment.protection..For.the.last.twenty.years.she.
has. been. involved. in. studies. on. the. synthesis. of.
. cellulose.by.strains.of.Gluconacetobacter xylinus..She.is.
the. coauthor. of. numerous. patents. and. publications.. The. achievements. of.
Dr. Krystynowicz.and.her.coworkers.in.their.research.on.bacterial.cellulose.
production.and.it.uses.have.been.awarded.prizes.and.medals.both.in.Poland.
and.abroad.
Katarzyna Agnieszka Kubiak.has.been.employed.as.
an. academic. teacher. at. the. Institute. of. Technical.
Biochemistry. at. the. Technical. University. of. Lodz.
since.2008..She.received.her.PhD.in.2008.at.the.Centre.
of. Molecular. and. Macromolecular. Sciences,. Polish.
Academy.of.Sciences,.in.the.field.of.eukaryotic.gene.
silencing. with. chemically. obtained. siRNAs.. Her.
present.scientific.interests.focus.on.regulatory.RNAs.
in.bacteria.on.the.model.of.Gluconacetobacter xylinus..
Her.current.research.concerns.molecular.regulatory.
processes.involved.in.the.control.of.bacterial.cellulose.
biosynthesis.
Takayuki Kurokawa. graduated. with. a. degree. in.
polymer.science.from.Hokkaido.University.in.2000..
He. received. his. PhD. for. his. study. on. the. effect. of.
polymer. dynamics. on. the. friction. of. gels. from.
. Hokkaido. University. in. 2005.. He. joined. RIKEN,.
Japan,.as.a.postdoctoral.researcher..He.has.been.an.
assistant.professor.at.the.Creative.Research.Institution.at.Hokkaido.University.since.2009..He.focuses.
on.the.functions.of.polymer.gels,.such.as.mechanical.
properties,.permeability,.and.biological.properties.