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Michal D. Toborek, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Surgery

593 Wethington Bldg.
900 S. Limestone
Lexington, KY 40536-0200
Tel: (859)-323-4094
Fax: (859)-323-1093
e-mail: mjtobo00@uky.edu

Academic Appointments:

• Department of Surgery
• Department of Molecular & Cellular Biochemistry
• Graduate Center for Nutritional Sciences
• Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences
• Markey Cancer Center

Education:

• Medical School, Silesian School of Medicine, Katowice, Poland, 1979-1985.
• M.D., Silesian School of Medicine, Katowice, Poland, 1985
• Ph.D., Silesian School of Medicine, Katowice, Poland, Dissertation title:    Pathomechanisms of experimental atherosclerosis induced by
   methionine-enriched or lipid-enriched diets, 1989

Awards:

• Silesian School of Medicine Rector’s Awards for Outstanding Scientific    Achievements.
• Silesian School of Medicine Rector’s Awards for Outstanding Teachers.
• Dissertation Year Fellowship, Silesian School of Medicine.
• American Heart Association; Excellence in Research Award for receiving the    highest score of all research grants submitted to the American Heart Association,    KY Affiliate.
• American College of Nutrition; Anafred N. Halpern New Investigator Award.
• Alexander von Humboldt Foundation; Alexander von Humboldt Research Awards.
• Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels 2004 and 2005
• Wethington Awards, University of Kentucky

Specific Interest in nutrition:

Research:

My research has concentrated on effects of nutrients, such as selected fatty acids, on cellular and molecular mechanisms of endolethial cell function, injury and protection in the relationship to the development of atherosclerosis. Specifically, my current research includes analysis of the cytokine-fatty interaction in nuclear factor kB (NF-kB) activation, inflammatory gene expression, monocyte adhesion, induction of oxidative stress and disturbances in intercellular calcium metabolism. A major part of my current research is devoted to study mechanisms of fatty acid-induced activation of NF-kB. The majority of my research is based on work with cultured endolethial cells. However, I also use transgenic animals, particularly mice genetically deficient in TNF receptors.