Thomas Michalak, Memorial University of Newfoundland
Medicine
Molecular Virology
Professor
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
timich@mun.ca
Office:
(709) 777-7301
Expert In
Bio/Research
Dr. Thomas Michalak is an immunologist and molecular virologist at Memorial University. He heads up one of the world�s leading centers for research on hepatitis viruses.
Dr. Michalak holds a M.D. from Warsaw Medical University and a Ph.D. from the National Institute of Hygiene of Warsaw....
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Dr. Michalak holds a M.D. from Warsaw Medical University and a Ph.D. from the National Institute of Hygiene of Warsaw....
Click to Expand >>
Bio/Research
Dr. Thomas Michalak is an immunologist and molecular virologist at Memorial University. He heads up one of the world�s leading centers for research on hepatitis viruses.
Dr. Michalak holds a M.D. from Warsaw Medical University and a Ph.D. from the National Institute of Hygiene of Warsaw. He joined the Faculty of Medicine at Memorial in February, 1985, and in the last 18 years his laboratory has established internationally-recognized multidisciplinary expertise in viral hepatitis and antiviral research. This research has been supported by operating grants and student scholarships from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Canadian Liver Foundation, Canadian Blood Services and Memorial University, and by research contracts and grants from international and Canadian pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
In July 2001, Dr. Michalak was awarded a Senior Canada Research Chair in Viral Hepatitis/Immunology, one of the first two Canada Research Chairs for Memorial University. This Chair includes $200,000 per year for salary and research support over seven years.
Much of Dr. Michalak�s research is focused on understanding how hepatitis B induces liver disease, how it infects and evades the immune system, and how it establishes persistent lifelong infection. The goal is to develop better therapeutic strategies. His research interest also includes studies on hepatitis C, in particular on the virus� ability to infect the immune system and persist after termination of a symptomatic disease.
Hepatitis B virus will not grow in a cell culture, so Dr. Michalak studies the virus using its close relative found in some subspecies of woodchucks. He has established a large research and breeding colony of Eastern American woodchucks at Memorial and with this groundbreaking animal model he has made important progress in understanding the mechanisms leading to this affliction and potential ways of dealing with it.
Dr. Michalak�s research has particular significance for the understanding of the molecular and immunological basis of chronic liver injury and virus persistence in viral hepatitis, including mechanisms of virus-induced, liver-specific autoimmune processes and hepatocellular carcinoma. Among others, his laboratory has recently discovered the existence of a serologically silent (occult) form of long-term hepatitis virus infection that may not always involve the liver but always the host�s immune system. By developing animal models for viral hepatitis research, he has been able to characterize new aspects of the natural history of hepatitis B that inflicts chronic disease in estimated 400 million individuals worldwide. The woodchuck model of hepatitis B is also employed to develop and evaluate novel antiviral approaches, including DNA-based vaccines and therapies, cytokines, adjuvant-like immunomodulators, and nucleoside analogues.
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Dr. Michalak holds a M.D. from Warsaw Medical University and a Ph.D. from the National Institute of Hygiene of Warsaw. He joined the Faculty of Medicine at Memorial in February, 1985, and in the last 18 years his laboratory has established internationally-recognized multidisciplinary expertise in viral hepatitis and antiviral research. This research has been supported by operating grants and student scholarships from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Canadian Liver Foundation, Canadian Blood Services and Memorial University, and by research contracts and grants from international and Canadian pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
In July 2001, Dr. Michalak was awarded a Senior Canada Research Chair in Viral Hepatitis/Immunology, one of the first two Canada Research Chairs for Memorial University. This Chair includes $200,000 per year for salary and research support over seven years.
Much of Dr. Michalak�s research is focused on understanding how hepatitis B induces liver disease, how it infects and evades the immune system, and how it establishes persistent lifelong infection. The goal is to develop better therapeutic strategies. His research interest also includes studies on hepatitis C, in particular on the virus� ability to infect the immune system and persist after termination of a symptomatic disease.
Hepatitis B virus will not grow in a cell culture, so Dr. Michalak studies the virus using its close relative found in some subspecies of woodchucks. He has established a large research and breeding colony of Eastern American woodchucks at Memorial and with this groundbreaking animal model he has made important progress in understanding the mechanisms leading to this affliction and potential ways of dealing with it.
Dr. Michalak�s research has particular significance for the understanding of the molecular and immunological basis of chronic liver injury and virus persistence in viral hepatitis, including mechanisms of virus-induced, liver-specific autoimmune processes and hepatocellular carcinoma. Among others, his laboratory has recently discovered the existence of a serologically silent (occult) form of long-term hepatitis virus infection that may not always involve the liver but always the host�s immune system. By developing animal models for viral hepatitis research, he has been able to characterize new aspects of the natural history of hepatitis B that inflicts chronic disease in estimated 400 million individuals worldwide. The woodchuck model of hepatitis B is also employed to develop and evaluate novel antiviral approaches, including DNA-based vaccines and therapies, cytokines, adjuvant-like immunomodulators, and nucleoside analogues.
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