Trygve Tollefsbol
Trygve Olaf Tollefsbol (born c. 1952) is a biologist specializing in epigenetics related to cancer and aging.
Tollefsbol earned his bachelor of science at the University of Houston in 1974 and a master of science at the University of North Texas in Denton in 1977. His doctorates in osteopathic medicine and molecular biology were awarded by the University of North Texas Health Sciences Center in 1979 and 1982.
Tollefsbol practiced at UNT and went on to conduct research as a postdoctoral and senior fellow while teaching at the Duke University Medical Center. He completed a residency in surgery at the Medical Center of Central Georgia and a research fellowship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Tollefsbol joined the faculty of the UAB Department of Biology in 1998 and has served as director of the UAB Cell Senescence Culture Facility; as a senior scientist at the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Comprehensive Center for Healthy Aging, the Comprehensive Diabetes Center and the Nutrition Obesity Research Center; as a preceptor at the UAB Dental School and the UAB Center for Research on Clinical and Applied Gerontology; and as an assistant professor at the UAB Vision Science Research Center.
Tollefsbol is active in scientific publication, serving on the editorial board of the journal Molecular Biotechnology and as an associate editor of Frontiers in Genetics and Clinical Epigenetics. He is also series editor for Translational Epigenetics
Epigenetics is the study of heritable changes in gene expression, as distinct from the genetic code. Tollefsbol's research has focused on the gene expressions that produce and regulate telomeres and are thus involved in DNA damage, aging, and the growth of cancerous cells. His clinical research has indicated that changes in diet can improve the functioning of genes over time, and specifically supports the benefits of bioactive compounds such as epigallocatechin gallate (found in green tea), genistein (in soy) and sulforaphanein (in cruciferous vegetables).
External links
- Trygve Tollefsbol at uab.edu