Viktor M. Pastukh

Viktor M. Pastukh is a Lecturer in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of South Alabama's College of Medicine. His research focuses on mitochondrial DNA damage and cellular signaling mechanisms across cardiometabolic and pulmonary diseases.

• Education
  • Master's: Taras Shevchenko Kyiv State University, Ukraine
  • Ph.D.: Palladin Institute of Biochemistry, Ukrainian Academy of Sciences
  • Postdoctoral Fellowship: Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine

Research interests include:

• Mechanisms of mitochondrial DNA damage in oxidative stress
• Apoptosis regulation in endothelial cells and cardiomyocytes
• Role of VEGF in lung vessel remodeling
• Signal transduction pathways (Ca²⁺, PI 3-kinase/Akt, PKC)
• Insulin-mediated mitochondrial dysfunction
• Low-dose irradiation effects on lymphocyte signaling

Recent publications highlight his work on mitochondrial DNA as a biomarker in obesity-diabetes syndrome, trauma resuscitation, and lung transplantation. Collaborative studies with multidisciplinary teams span surgical research and molecular pharmacology domains.