Member SpotlightsAn Entrepreneur Reversing the Effects of Time Alexander Zgursky, Ph.D. A Member Since April 2002  From his early childhood, Dr. Alexander Zgursky has been interested in science, especially in biology. In secondary school, he debated whether to study electrical engineering or biomedicine and never regretted deciding to pursue a career in the latter. After graduating from high school, he attended the State Medical Institution in Moscow, Russia and focused his studies in the field of biochemistry. He eventually earned his doctorate degree in biochemistry from this institution although his research was conducted at the Moscow Institute of Viral Preparations. Dr. Zgursky’s thesis work involved studying the biochemistry of human cells cultivated in vitro, specifically concentrating on the enzyme changes that occur during cellular senescence and malignant transformation. He developed a method to determine the oncogenic properties of cells based on their isoenzyme profile of alkaline phosphatase. He also participated in the establishment and characterization of a new strain of diploid cells from human lung embryonic tissue. During his years at the Institute, Dr Zgursky developed an ELISA kit for determining the serum antibodies to cytomegalovirus and invented a novel inhibitor of first type herpes simplex virus (Rus. Patent N 2022012, 1994). During his graduate studies Dr. Zgursky became interested in gerontology, which helped shape his research focus. After graduating from the Institute, Dr. Zgursky worked in the resuscitation branch of a major Moscow hospital. Concurrently, he performed research in the laboratory of quantitative gerontology at The Institute of Chemical Physics. His work was in the comparative biochemistry of stress and aging. This research was seminal in the formulation of a hypothesis that aging is a result of chronic stress, which develops in an organism at the onset of puberty. In the early 1980’s, Dr. Zgursky published this research in the “Reports of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR ” and still considers it one of his most important personal achievements. For many years, Dr. Zgursky served as the scientific editor of the biology of aging section for the All-Union Institute of the Scientific and Technical Information. This work allowed him to compile a significant personal database on aging-related information and data, and has aided his further understanding of the aging process. Currently, Zgursky is a physician-biochemist at his own company, Medbiokor, Ltd., which is based in Moscow. He hopes to correct age-induced changes of skin and other tissues with stem cells and fibroblasts preparations. Additionally, his company is pioneering the development of new technologies to more accurately determine a person’s rate of aging. Dr. Zgursky is a member of the Moscow Society of Life Scientists and the Russian Biochemical Society. When he takes a time-off from the demands of managing his own company and being its principal researcher, he likes to assemble and configure personal computers (a tribute to his early addiction for electronics). He also is a hiking and bicycling enthusiast. Dr. Zgursky enjoys music and plays an accordion and guitar for his friends. When time allows, he is developing his skills as an amateur photographer. ### << Previous Next >> [ View All Member Spotlights ] |
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