{"id":144909,"date":"2025-01-28T13:32:07","date_gmt":"2025-01-28T18:32:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=144909"},"modified":"2025-01-28T13:32:07","modified_gmt":"2025-01-28T18:32:07","slug":"ucf-researcher-earns-presidential-academic-honor-from-native-poland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/ucf-researcher-earns-presidential-academic-honor-from-native-poland\/","title":{"rendered":"UCF Researcher Earns Presidential Academic Honor from Native Poland"},"content":{"rendered":"

College of Medicine Professor Michal Masternak, who focuses his research on healthy aging and cancer, has been honored as a Professor Belweder, his native Poland\u2019s highest academic honor.<\/p>\n

Polish President Andrzej Duda presented the award to Masternak at Poland\u2019s Presidential Palace. The award is given based on an exhaustive review of a nominee\u2019s research and scholarly activities by Poland\u2019s top scientists and academics. Unlike university titles and tenure, which associated with and given by a specific institution, the Professor Belweder is a lifetime appointment, sometimes referred to as a White House professorship in the U.S.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was very exciting, especially  to receive the diploma right from the president\u2019s hands,\u201d Masternak says, adding that the celebration was also special because it happened his father\u2019s 72nd birthday. Both his parents were in attendance and after the formal presentation, President Duda took selfies with the Masternak family.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy father is fighting lung cancer and he has good days and bad days. I\u2019m thankful he was able to be there,\u201d Masternak says. \u201cIt was a very special day for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Masternak is a professor of medicine at the College of Medicine\u2019s Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences and is involved in multiple research areas.<\/p>\n