Maria Stożek joined the Education of Human Affectivity and Sexuality project within the Institute for Culture and Society, focusing her research on primary prevention of intimate partner violence and its application to the field of sexuality education.

As Stożek noted, "I am interested in in criminological and human rights problems, and particularly about prevention of violence against women" She continued, "Multilevel, complex problems, such as violence against women, cannot be solved through isolated lens of one scientific discipline. Ultimately, there is a need for cooperative efforts of experts from various disciplines to work together to design effective science-based violence prevention programs".

Maria Stożek has a PhD in Law (Criminology) from the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. In addition, she also earned two Master's degrees in Law from Harvard University and the Jagiellonian University. She has worked for Poland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Human Rights Department, as well as conducted research stays at the University of Heidelberg, the Institute of Health Carlos III in Madrid, the Central European University in Budapest and the University of Indiana in the United States.