BAL Wojciech, University of Warsaw, Poland
Copper carriers: travellers in odd dimensions
Biography:
Professor Wojciech Bal Ph.D. D.Sc graduated from the University of Wroclaw, Poland in 1987 and obtained a doctorate in bioinorganic chemistry there in 1991. He then conducted postdoctoral studies with Prof. Peter J. Sadler as Research Fellow at Birkbeck College, University of London, U.K. (1992/93) and with Dr. K. S. Kasprzak as Visiting Fellow, Laboratory of Comparative Carcinogenesis, National Cancer Institute at‑Frederick, MD (1994‑1996). In 1997-2002 he was Associate Professor at the Faculty of Chemistry, University of Wroclaw and Alexander von Humboldt Fellow at University of Karlsruhe (2001/2002, with Prof. Andrea Hartwig). In 2002 he joined the Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland, as State Professor and head of department/laboratory since 2006. Since 2020 he chairs the Scientific Council of IBB PAS.
His research interests include thermodynamics, structure and reactivity of complexes of transition metal ions with biological peptides, including peptide hormones and beta amyloid; interactions of transition metal ions with drugs; structure and activity of metalloproteins, with particular focus on metal ion tranport; intracellular metal ion metabolism and toxicity, zinc fingers, chaperones, sensors; molecular toxicology of metals and metal-related carcinogenesis, protein purification and engineering. He coauthored more than 210 research papers, independently cited more than 6500 times, h index 54. His editorial assignments include Chemical Research in Toxicology (ACS) Editorial Advisory Board (2009-2015) and Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry (since 2022). His interest in practical applications of scientific results resulted in three awarded patents. One of these patents was implemented in a marketed series of skin care products preventing symptoms of nickel allergy.