Dr Emilie Stolarczyk is a Senior Scientific Lead at Abcam, specializing in immunology, metabolism, and inflammation. She holds a PhD in Physiology-Physiopathology from Pierre and Marie Curie University, focusing on glucose homeostasis in mice. With experience in both academia and industry, she has worked on immunometabolism, intestinal inflammation, and drug development. Dr. Stolarczyk has authored over 22 publications and secured significant research funding. She is committed to advancing scientific knowledge and developing innovative immunology and infectious disease solutions.

Background and Experience

Can you describe your career journey and what led you to your current role as Senior Scientific Lead at Abcam?

Science has fascinated me from a young age, likely influenced by my parents—an engineer and a lab technician. I pursued pharmacy at university, followed by a master’s degree in biochemistry, during which I spent most of my spare time in the lab. This experience naturally led to my PhD, where I explore a new field: energy metabolism. My PhD journey was incredibly rewarding, filled with opportunities to acquire new knowledge and techniques, supported by a fantastic team and inspiring mentors.
Building on my background in metabolism and biochemistry, I embraced a new challenge for my first postdoc at King’s College London, exploring immunology. Those eight years were some of the most stimulating of my career. I immersed myself in the emerging field of immunometabolism, focusing on adipose tissue inflammation while collaborating with colleagues on intestinal inflammation projects. Afterward, I moved to Imperial College London, where I transitioned to a drug development project—my first encounter with the challenges of the pharmaceutical industry.
Then came COVID. The initial plan to relocate to the Cambridge area—following my husband, also a scientist—and find a new lab became more complex. After months of lockdowns, I decided to use my years of expertise into a role where I could benefit others. The stars seemed to align when I discovered a scientific support position at Abcam, perfectly aligning with the new hybrid work norm. I joined an inclusive and fantastic team, never once regretting my decision to leave academia.
A few months later, an opportunity emerged to join Abcam’s R&D department as part of the Research Area and Collaboration team. This role allowed me to contribute to the development of new reagents for immunology while working closely with various research groups worldwide to support their projects and experimental objectives. Today, as a senior scientific lead, I feel privileged to hold one of the most rewarding positions of my career.

Your work has spanned various aspects of immunology and metabolism. What initially drew you to these fields, and how have your interests evolved?

What drew me in was the profound connection between our body's systems and how they influence health. During my master's degree, while studying bifidobacteria metabolism, I first realized how dietary changes could impact metabolism and immunity, shaping resistance to infections and diseases. This sparked a deep fascination with the intricate interplay between metabolism and the immune system—how they regulate and maintain balance in the body.
Over the years, my interests have evolved as I investigate deeper into immunometabolism, which bridges various disease areas like cancer, neurology, and endocrinology. The interrelation of these pathways has kept me captivated, especially how changes in one system can impact and spread to others, influencing health outcomes. Each project and discovery have expanded my understanding of this dynamic relationship, energizing my enthusiasm to explore its role in diverse biological contexts.

Current Role and Responsibilities

Could you describe some of the key projects you work on at Abcam?

Each project plays a crucial role in developing the best tools for scientists, accelerating their discoveries. But one of my recent collaborations was especially exciting—we used recombinant antibody engineering to improve a neutrophil-depleting antibody. The original hybridoma clone, anti-Ly6G [1A8] rat IgG2a, is widely used in neutrophil research but remains effective for only 48 hours due to the rapid regeneration of neutrophils. This required researchers to frequently perform labor-intensive repeated injections to maintain neutrophil depletion over an extended period.
To address this, we murinized the Ly6G [1A8] clone, successfully increasing its half-life to 72 hours, which significantly reduced dosing frequency for prolonged neutrophil depletion. By converting the rat IgG2a hybridoma anti-Ly6G [1A8] into a recombinant format, we developed two new chimeric antibodies: mouse IgG2a anti-Ly6G [1A8] and mouse IgG2c anti-Ly6G [1A8].
This was an amazing project in collaboration with the Tatyana Chtanova lab at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research and UNSW Sydney, Australia.

As a Senior Scientific Lead, how do you balance your time between research, management, and collaboration with other departments?

Effective communication, including regular check-ins and progress updates, combined with adaptability in reassessing priorities during unexpected changes, is crucial. Each element enhances the others—research drives strategic choices, management facilitates seamless operations, and collaboration inspires innovation and cross-disciplinary perspectives. It's a dynamic balance that keeps me engaged and focused.

Research and Achievements

What do you consider your most significant scientific contribution to date, and why?

In the early days of immunometabolism, we discovered that T-bet expression in the adaptive immune system, rather than the innate immune system, played a pivotal role in regulating host glucose homeostasis. This was innovative at the time, as it was entirely unexpected for an immune transcription factor to have such a significant impact.
When I joined Abcam, one of the first products I worked on was an anti-T-bet recombinant antibody, fully aware of the challenges in ensuring its detection across various applications. Knowing that this tool now supports scientists in their work is incredibly rewarding.

What are some of the biggest challenges you have faced in your research, and how did you overcome them?

One of the biggest challenges I faced in academic research was securing funding, constantly applying for fellowships, and navigating the scarcity of permanent academic positions. Additionally, there was a noticeable lack of support for women in STEM. Fortunately, I had the privilege of being surrounded by inspiring role models who demonstrated to me that success was achievable both in academia and industry. However, I knew I needed to go above and beyond to achieve the recognition I merited, and I acknowledge that this challenge will persist as closing the gender gap in STEM is a gradual process.

Collaboration and Teamwork

You have collaborated with various academic and industry partners. How do you approach building and maintaining these relationships?

Building and maintaining relationships with academic and industry partners is all about fostering trust, mutual respect, and shared goals. By nurturing these connections thoughtfully, they often evolve into meaningful and long-lasting collaborations fueled by a shared passion for science and discovery.

How do you foster a productive and innovative environment within your team?

A positive culture that promotes openness, collaboration, creativity, and growth is essential for fostering a productive and innovative environment. Open communication ensures that every team member feels heard and valued, building trust and transparency. This foundation is strengthened by embracing diverse ideas and experiences, creating an inclusive atmosphere where the team is continually learning and evolving.

Future Directions

What emerging technologies do you believe will have the most significant impact on your field?

Recent progress in single-cell phenotyping using spectral flow cytometry, coupled with advancements in spatial biology that explore cellular arrangements within tissues to reveal biological functions and disease mechanisms, is set to significantly influence research in immunology and infectious diseases. Moreover, artificial intelligence and machine learning are emerging as transformative tools ready to revolutionize drug discovery, making personalized medicine an exciting future.

Are there any emerging trends or technologies in immunology and metabolism that you are particularly excited about?

Met-flow, a technique that merges intracellular staining with flow cytometry, streamlines single-cell analysis across a variety of metabolic pathways of interest. Alongside this, Scenith offers a method for functional metabolic profiling in multiple cells simultaneously through flow cytometry. Both approaches are exceptional for investigating immune cell metabolism at the single-cell level, proving especially effective for rare cell populations and minimizing the metabolic biases often associated with conventional methods. At Abcam, we are dedicated to continually developing innovative tools to enhance these techniques and empower scientists in their research.

Personal Insights

You have supervised and trained many students and technicians. What advice do you give to young scientists starting their careers?

Embarking on a scientific career is an exciting journey, offering countless opportunities to make impactful contributions. Yet, resilience is essential—acknowledge and celebrate all successes, no matter their scale, to stay motivated. The journey can be a rollercoaster, but each experiment provides valuable lessons. Collaboration and effective communication with peers are crucial for sustaining passion and growth. Additionally, having mentors offers indispensable guidance, providing support during both challenging and rewarding times. Science can be a deeply fulfilling pursuit, but it may not be the right fit for everyone in the long term. If you find that your excitement fades after a few years, it's okay not to force it. There are plenty of rewarding career paths beyond the lab that can align with your aspirations and provide a fresh sense of purpose. Embrace the opportunity to explore new directions and redefine your goals.

How do you manage to maintain a work-life balance, especially given the demanding nature of scientific research?

Now that my work is mostly office-based, achieving a healthy work-life balance has become more manageable. Staying organized is key—planning tasks provides the flexibility needed to address unexpected urgent matters. This approach helps me establish boundaries, which are vital for protecting valuable family time.
Back in the lab, the days were long, but I always carved out moments for myself—whether it was a midday stroll in the vibrant surroundings of Paris and London or catching up with friends and colleagues after work. I also made it a point to keep my weekends free from work whenever possible. On occasion, I would stop by to set up experiments or monitor ongoing ones, but since it helped save time in the long run, it never felt like a burden.
Prioritizing personal time is vital—without it, the risk of burnout becomes all too real.