John Malysz

Dr. Malysz received an Honors B.Sc. degree (Pharmacology and Biology Co-op Program, McMaster Univ., Hamilton, Canada) in 1993 and a Ph.D. degree (Physiology and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster Univ.) in 1999. During his graduate studies (Jan.1994 - Dec.1998) under the supervision of Dr. Jan D. Huizinga (Intestinal Disease Research Program), he investigated the cellular origin and regulation of the pacemaker slow wave activity in the small intestinal musculature. Dr. Malysz continued his research training in smooth muscle electrophysiology at Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN, USA) in Dept. of Physiology and Biophysics under the mentorship of Drs. Joseph H. Szurszewski and Gianrico Farrugia (current CEO of Mayo Clinic) from Feb. 1999 until Dec. 2000. During postdoctoral studies, he investigated electrophysiological and pharmacological properties of K+ ion channels in corpus cavernosum smooth muscle cells as potential targets for erectile dysfunction. In Dec. 2000, Dr. Malysz joined pre-clinical Global Pharmaceutical Research and Development division at Abbott Laboratories (later renamed Abbott) where he worked until Feb. 2011. In the company, he held various positions and roles investigating multiple targets (ion channels, G-protein coupled receptors and mitochondria function modulation) for overactive bladder or neuroscience (Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, and chronic pain) indications until Feb. 2011. The highlights of Dr. Malysz’s work at Abbott include providing scientific leadership to an in vitro Biology/Pharmacology group that as part of an extended team advanced four compounds (all either alpha7 or alpha4beta2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor modulators for neuroscience indications) into at least clinical phase I stage and enhancing the understanding of pharmacological properties of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor ligands. In Jul. 2011, Dr. Malysz transitioned to academia to pursue research interests in urinary bladder smooth muscle ion channels (Jul. 2011 - Jul. 2014, Research Assistant Professor, the group of Dr. Georgi V. Petkov, South Carolina College of Pharmacy, Univ. South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA) and gut pacemaker interstitial cells of Cajal (Jul. 2014 - Aug. 2017, Research Associate, the group of Dr. Gianrico Farrugia, Enteric Neuroscience Program, Mayo Clinic). Currently since Sept. 2017, Dr. Malysz is an Assistant Professor in the College of Pharmacy (non-tenure track), University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), Memphis, TN, USA and Associate Director for the newly established Developmental Center for Human Urinary Bladder Myogenic Mechanisms by Ion Channels in Health and Disease at UTHSC under Dr. Georgi V. Petkov (who is both Chairman, Dept. of Pharmaceutical Sciences, UTHSC and Harriett S. Van Fleet Endowed Professor). Dr. Malysz has co-authored 55 peer-reviewed publications, 63 poster/abstract presentations, and co-inventor on four patents (all with Abbott).