Stefan Balaz

Stefan Balaz, PhD, DSc, is a Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (ACPHS). He holds advanced degrees from Comenius University and the Slovak University of Technology in Slovakia. His research focuses on subcellular pharmacokinetics, drug-receptor interactions, and quantitative structure-time-activity relationships (QSTAR). Balaz employs both experimental and computational techniques to study drug distribution across biological membranes and their interactions with cellular components.

Education: Ph.D. and D.Sc. from Comenius University; M.S. from Slovak University of Technology.

Research emphasizes membrane transport mechanisms, QSAR modeling, and biodegradation processes. His work integrates bench-top experiments with computational methods to predict drug behavior in biological systems. Notable contributions include studies on phospholipid bilayer dynamics, drug partitioning, and the role of tautomers/ionization in ligand-receptor binding.

Editorial roles include serving on the boards of Current Computer-Aided Drug Design and Chemical Papers. He is a peer reviewer for high-impact journals like Journal of Medicinal Chemistry and Environmental Science and Technology.

His publications span over 130 papers, 19 chapters, and a book, with recent work on phosphatidylcholine headgroup polarity and scalable synthesis methods for lipid components.