Michal Toborek
Leonard M. Miller Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Miller School of Medicine
mtoborek@miami.edu
The highly interdisciplinary research in Dr. Toborek’s laboratory has been focused on neuroscience, cerebrovascular biology, and tumor biology. Specific interests involve studies on the integrity of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and how different pathological conditions can lead to the disruption and/or dysfunction of the BBB. Several projects are focused on HIV trafficking into the brain, establishing latent HIV reservoirs, and the impact of aging and the gut-brain axis on these processes. Another area of interest of Dr. Toborek’s laboratory is connected to the effects of drugs of abuse on the brain endothelium and HIV infection. Molecular mechanisms of cerebrovascular toxicity induced by methamphetamine and/or opioids are studied in both in vitro and in vivo experimental settings. We also have projects on the health impact of environmental toxicants and the role of environmental stressors in the formation of neuroinflammatory responses. Regarding clinical outcomes, research in Dr. Toborek’s laboratory has focused on cognitive decline, depression, disruption of circadian rhythms, and the formation of brain metastasis.
Keywords: blood-brain barrier, HIV, aging, gut-brain axis, methamphetamine, opioids, environmental toxicants
