Dr. Smolka is Professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the Medical University of South Carolina. He earned his PhD in Physiology and Biophysics in 1982 at the University of Alabama, Birmingham. Following postdoctoral studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, he was appointed Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at UCLA in 1984. Dr. Smolka was appointed Associate Professor in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology at MUSC in 1992, and tenured full Professor in the Department of Medicine at MUSC in 2001.

Dr. Smolka is Course Director of the First Year Curriculum in the College of Graduate Studies. He is a member of several organizations including the American Gastroenterological Association; American Association for the Advancement of Science; American Society for Cell Biology; and the Parietal Cell Club (President, 1993).  Additionally, he is a member of Hollings Cancer Center at MUSC, and a past Universities Space Research Association Scholar and member of the NASA Biotechnology Fundamentals Study Section.

Dr. Smolka’s current research interests include molecular structure-function relationships in the gastric proton pump; pathophysiology of Helicobacter pylori infection of the gastric mucosa, and proteomic analysis of esophageal cancers. Previous research at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama, focused on bioseparations technology, including microgravity cell electrophoresis (a sample of his blood was processed in earth orbit on Skylab II), and modification of cell electrophoretic mobility using synthetic polymeric microspheres. Dr. Smolka has published extensively (47 papers, 15 book chapters, and 55 abstracts), and since 1984 has been Principal Investigator on five major National Institutes of Health grant awards, and one NASA award. His present research funding extends to 2009.

Dr. Smolka's Curriculum Vitae (PDF Format)*

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