Mohamed Trebak, Ph.D.

Professor of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology
Professor of Medicine
Director of Faculty Affairs and Programmatic Science, Vascular Medicine Institute
Member, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center

trebakm@pitt.edu

ResearchGate – VMI Profile – Pharmacology Profile

Mohamed “Mo” Trebak was born in Morocco and completed his graduate studies in the department of Pathology at the University of Liège, in Wallonia, Belgium. He then moved to the Wistar Institute of Philadelphia as a postdoctoral fellow and completed a second postdoc at the National Institutes of Health/NIEHS where he trained in calcium signaling in non-excitable cells. In 2007, he joined Albany Medical College, NY as an Assistant Professor and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2010. In 2015, he moved to the Pennsylvania State University Medical Center as a tenured Professor and then to the Vascular Medicine Institute at the University of Pittsburgh in 2021.

The Trebak lab currently studies the molecular mechanisms of cellular Ca2+ signaling at the interface of endoplasmic reticulum (ER), plasma membrane (PM) and mitochondria. The lab’s goal is to enhance our understanding of the molecular composition and physiological functions of cellular signaling microdomains that are of major significance to human disease, so we might be able to target these mechanisms for the purpose of therapy. The Trebak lab has defined the molecular mechanisms of activation and regulation of Ca2+ signals mediated by TRP and ORAI channels in epithelial, immune, endothelial and smooth muscle cells. The laboratory combines investigations of the molecular mechanisms of activation and regulation of ion channels with in vivo animal studies that determine the contribution of channel dysfunction to airway and cardiovascular pathology and cancer progression.

In the past 15 years, the Trebak lab has trained 15 graduate students (3 current), 12 postdoctoral fellows and 8 undergraduate students. Several alumni of the lab are faculty members at different institutions while others joined the pharmaceutical industry.

We are always looking for motivated individuals to work with us and have postdoctoral positions open. If interested, please send your CV to Dr. Trebak (trebakm@pitt.edu).

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