Epigenetics leader named recipient of UAB’s Ireland Prize for Scholarly Distinction

A biology professor in the College of Arts and Sciences has been awarded the 2015 Caroline P. and Charles W. Ireland Prize for Scholarly Distinction as a result of the quality of his scholarship and impact on his field.

Trygve Tollefsbol, Ph.D., a professor in the College of Arts and Sciences Department of Biology, is a leader in the growing field of epigenetics. Tollefsbol is the co-author and editor of eight books on the subject as well as the lead on numerous articles, and his work in this emerging and important field stands out among an array of international scholars.

Tollefsbol’s research has shown that altering one’s diet can result in fundamental, beneficial changes to a person’s genetic material in a way that protects him or her from aging and other biological damage.

In a recent review paper in Clinical Epigenetics that was widely publicized, Tollefsbol and UAB colleagues explained how a diet rich in broccoli, green tea, grapes and other foods containing bioactive components can fight off cancer and other aging-related diseases.

“The most important concept of epigenetics is that you can take control of your genes,” Tollefsbol said in a UAB Magazine story last year. “What you do affects your genes. In other words, you’re not predestined to a certain life because of your genetics, as we once thought. The genes you inherit aren’t necessarily going to limit you for the rest of your life.”

Tollefsbol received his B.S. degree from the University of Houston in 1974 and his M.S. degree from the University of North Texas in 1977. He completed combined doctorates in osteopathic medicine and molecular biology from the University of North Texas Health Sciences Center in 1979 and 1982, respectively.

Throughout the course of Tollefsbol’s remarkable career, he has held positions in medicine as well as in biological research. He has practiced medicine at the University of North Texas Health Sciences Center and has been a postdoctoral and senior fellow as well as assistant professor of medicine at Duke University Medical Center, a surgical resident at the Medical Center of Central Georgia, and a fellow at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

“With almost 400 faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences, ‘we’ are deeply honored to receive this award. I have used the plural here since there are many others who have made this prestigious award possible, ranging from an administration that consistently fosters success, to my collaborator and wife, Dr. Lucy Andrews, and to the many students, postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty who have worked in my laboratory,” said Tollefsbol. “I think it’s notable that the College of Arts and Sciences has granted this award, since our work extends across many disciplines and involves many other departments, centers and schools at UAB. This illustrates the collaborative spirit of the College of Arts and Sciences, not only within the College itself, but also universitywide.” 

Tollefsbol came to UAB as an assistant professor in the Department of Biology in 1998, and has held many positions across an array of interdisciplinary platforms, including the director of the UAB Cell Senescence Culture Facility; a senior scientist at the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Comprehensive Center for Healthy Aging, the Comprehensive Diabetes Center and the Nutrition Obesity Research Center; a preceptor at the Dental School and the Center for Research on Clinical and Applied Gerontology; and an assistant professor at the Vision Science Research Center. He serves on the editorial board of Molecular Biotechnology and is an associate editor of Clinical Epigenetics. He is the series editor for Translational Epigenetics, an associate editor for Frontiers in Genetics and a contributing editor to Levin’s “GENES” classic textbook on molecular biology.

“I am delighted that Dr. Tollefsbol’s many contributions to UAB, the College of Arts and Sciences, and his field of research are being recognized by the prestigious Ireland Award,” said Robert E. Palazzo, Ph.D., dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “Dr. Tollefsbol is a world-renowned expert in epigenetics. He has been an exceptional mentor to numerous students and postdoctoral trainees. UAB is fortunate to have someone of his caliber as a scientist and a professor.”

Tollefsbol plans to donate the $5,000 award proceeds to the Dr. Trygve Tollefsbol Best Paper Award for the graduate students in the UAB Department of Biology.