Trygve Tollefsbol, Ph.D., D.O., was named Distinguished Professor in the College of Arts and Sciences Department of Biology. Tollefsbol, ranked among the top three authors internationally in the field of cancer epigenetics, came to UAB in 1998 and has published more than 145 peer-reviewed research papers, 28 book chapters and 17 books on topics such as diet, epigenetics and cancer prevention.
Tollefsbol has received more than 60 research grants totaling nearly $20 million in funding, founded and directed the UAB Cell Senescence Culture Facility for more than 20 years and has trained more than 50 scientists while at UAB. In 2016, he received UAB’s Ireland Prize for Scholarly Distinction and a $50,000 unsolicited award from the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research for his study of the mechanisms of biological aging. He also was the founder and chief editor for Translational Epigenetics, an associate editor of Frontiers in Genetics’ Epigenomics and Epigenetics and was an original editorial board member for Clinical Epigenetics, among others.
The rank of Distinguished Professor is a campuswide appointment that recognizes international accomplishments to confer richly deserved prestige and honor on those selected to receive this designation. The rank of University Professor is a campuswide appointment primarily prestigious in a specific discipline; it confers an academic rank that transcends departmental and disciplinary lines and grants recipients the greatest latitude in teaching, writing, and scholarly research. Review the criteria online.