Early History
It was founded in 1918/19, shortly after the reestablishment of Poland as an independent country. It was based on three pre-existing laboratories affiliated with the Scientific Society of Warsaw (Towarzystwo Naukowe Warszawskie): Laboratory of Neurobiology (in existence since 1911), Laboratory of Physiology (in existence since 1913) and Laboratory of General Biology (established in 1918). Formation and development of the Institute was supported in part by a donation of Nadine Sieber-Shumova, a close co-worker of Marceli Nencki from Berne and St. Petersburg.
Over the next two decades the Institute gained prominence in the field of biological research in Poland. One of its major figures was the neurophysiologist Jerzy Konorski who discovered secondary conditioned reflexes. The outbreak of World War II interrupted a period of its intensive expansion and the achievement of scientific excellence in the field of experimental biology.
During World War II, over a dozen of the Institute's staff lost their lives, and its premises (including most of its 30,000-volume library) were destroyed.
Read more about this topic: Nencki Institute Of Experimental Biology
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