GUMC Update : Getting to Know...Zofia Zukowska

Getting to Know...Zofia Zukowska

November 17, 2008

Perhaps best known around GUMC for her research on Neuropeptide Y (NPY), a
major neurotransmitter in the central and peripheral nervous system, Zofia Zukowska, M.D., Ph.D., is also a professor and the chair of the Department
of Physiology & Biophysics. Zofia came to Georgetown in 1986, after working on her post-doc research at the National Institutes of Health.

Sitting in her bright, colorful office in the Basic Science building, we caught up with Zofia to learn more about the person behind the research.

I've heard you're pretty good to have on-board when flying. Is it true that you've saved fellow passengers' lives?

Yes, I've saved two different people on one flight, and then three people
on three separate flights. It was always businessmen in first class who were
coming from stressful meetings, and they'd have a cardic event. And so, I'd
come forward, and I see essentially a patient that's on the border of
fainting with the chest pain, sweating, and purple lips. So we got the
oxygen and put the patient on the floor with his legs up, so the blood went
from his legs to his heart.

And it became my routine- oxygen down, legs up! So my husband, joked that I should patent it, "The Zukowska Maneuver."

Were these long flights? Why do you think it's happened to you so many times?

All were on the same route- Frankfurt to Dulles. But Frankfurt is a big
business center, so it's not surprising. The flights originate in early
afternoon, so you get those people from stressful meetings. The first thing
they do is have a drink.

What do you like about working here at Georgetown? Have you worked at other universities?

I worked in Warsaw, Poland, at the Warsaw Medical School for several years. But there's history here. There's identity, and it's not like any other
school in the world. The identity is its special face, its tradition and
history, and the really beautiful campus. Also, it's close to the Eastern
shore, which means I feel more connected to the rest of the world,
especially Europe, where I still have roots and sentiments.

Do you have any big projects or professional goals you're working on this year?

I'm very interested in personal growth and improvement and trying to make a positive mark in the world around me. Really, my biggest dream right now is to make GUMC's stress center a reality. Not only to have the research part of it going, but also to begin working the service part so that we can
actually take the research to the community. I hope we can educate people
about stress management, and tell them about the ways stress can influence
their health and well-being.

Tell us about your family. Are your children interested in scientific
research, as well?

No, no, because their father, like me, is a PhD. And they had medicine up to there when they were growing up. My son, who was born here at Georgetown's hospital on the day I was supposed to give the first final exam to my students, is a senior here at the School of Foreign Service, and my daughter finished Yale and studied history of Eastern Europe.