We are saddened to announce the passing of Professor Wojciech Stec on December 4, 2024.
Professor Stec was an outstanding chemist, co-founder of Polish phosphorus chemistry of bioorganic compounds, a scientific leader and mentor of many generations of young scientists. Professor Stec was a man of great charisma, strong intellect and decisive action.
He loved his family dearly; he leaves behind in grief his wife Bożenna, daughter Małgorzata and son Wojciech Jr. as well as his sisters and brothers, all with their families.
Professor Stec earned great recognition in the national and international scientific world. He received a number of prestigious prizes and awards, including the Prize of the Foundation for Polish Science, the so-called Polish Nobel Prize (2004). During the last conference of the Oligonucleotide Therapeutic Society (Montreal 2024) he was nominated for the Lifetime Achievement Award 2025. Unfortunately, he did not live to see this honor. He focused his scientific interests on bioorganic chemistry, paying particular attention to organophosphorus compounds. His particular achievement was the pioneering development, together with Dr. Gerald Zon, of the synthesis of phosphorothioate oligonucleotides, probes of great importance in molecular biology and medicinal chemistry. Together with his team, he invented the first synthesis of stereodefined phosphorothioate analogs of nucleic acids. His achievements include over 400 scientific publications and over a hundred Polish and foreign patents. Professor Stec was the supervisor of 30 doctoral theses. Several of his doctorates become professors of Polish and foreign academic units. Professor Stec was also actively involved in organizational activities. In 1987, he founded the Department of Bioorganic Chemistry at the Centre for Molecular Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences PAS in Lodz, which he headed for the next 23 years. In 1993 he was elected a member of the Polish Academy of Sciences. In the years 2001-2004 he was a member of the Presidium and in the years 2007-2010 he was Vice-President of the Polish Academy of Sciences. For many years he was Chairman of the Biotechnology Committee of the PAS Presidium (1990-1995) and since 1996 Chairman of the National Committee for Cooperation with the International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology ICGEB. He was friends with many eminent scientists from all over the world and many of them participated in the conferences organized on the occasion of the professor's birthday in 2005, 2010 and 2015. The last meeting organized online during the pandemic (2020) turned out to be the last in the professor's journey.
Given Professor Stec's dedication to science and his outstanding perseverance in solving Mother Nature's mysteries, it is hard to accept that the number of his publications and patents will never increase, but his scientific legacy and absolutely unique personality are and will remain important to us.