Memorial Room of Prof. Franciszek Chrapkiewicz-Chapeville

Franciszek Chrapkiewicz, known in France as François Chapeville, came from Godowa near Strzyżów. He graduated from the veterinary school in Maisons-Alfort before continuing his studies in the natural sciences. In 1953, he became a French citizen and adopted the surname Chapeville. His work moved from veterinary medicine towards processes taking place inside cells.

In Fritz Lipmann's laboratory in New York, he helped investigate the role of tRNA in protein synthesis. The research showed that decoding genetic information requires intermediary molecules, rather than the protein being made directly recognising that information. The team's findings were published in PNAS in 1962.

From 1979 to 1991, initially alongside Giorgio Bernardi, he led the Paris institute that became the Institut Jacques Monod. The memorial exhibition contains personal mementoes, decorations, documents and academic robes, together with a recreation of his study. Personal belongings accompany the story of research into things too small to see with the naked eye: molecules involved in transmitting information within cells.