Kurt Zatloukal

Kurt Zatloukal serves as Professor of Pathology at the Medical University of Graz, where he holds leadership positions including Head of the Diagnostic and Research Center for Molecular BioMedicine (since 2018) and Director of BBMRI.at, Austria's national node of the European biobanking infrastructure (since 2013). His academic career at this institution spans from Associate Professor (1993-1997) to full Professor (1997-present), with additional roles as Deputy Head of the Institute of Pathology (2008) and former Director of the Christian Doppler Laboratory for BRBT (2010-2017).

Education:

• MD from University of Graz (1985)
• Habilitation in Molecular Pathology (1992)
• Postdoctoral training at Research Institute of Molecular Pathology, Vienna (1991-1993)

His research investigates steatohepatitis pathogenesis through molecular mechanisms involving p62/sequestosome-1, with focus on protein aggregation (Mallory-Denk bodies), autophagy, and genetic-microbiome interactions in NAFLD progression. Current projects examine p62 isoform functions in protein aggregation using mouse models and explore steatohepatitis-associated hepatocellular carcinoma in collaboration with Johannes Haybaeck.

Scientific Awards: No awards were documented in the source material.

Professor Zatloukal has mentored four graduate students to completion: Pooja Lahiri (p62 in Mallory-Denk body formation), Anita Kuldeep Mehta (steatohepatitis-associated HCC), Zahra Safari (microbiome-genetics in NAFLD), and Meghana Somlapura (p62 isoforms in protein aggregation). His leadership extends to BBMRI.at and the Diagnostic and Research Center for Molecular BioMedicine, driving national biobanking initiatives and molecular pathology research.