Eugene Joseph Kucharz MD, PhD

Professor Eugene Joseph Kucharz studied medicine at the Medical University of Silesia (1968-1974) and graduated with honours in 1974. After graduation, he was assistant, lecturer and chairman of the Department of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Diagnostics of the Medical University of Silesia. He obtained Ph. D. in 1976 and habilitation degree (i.e. associate professor degree) in 1984. He was a visiting professor at the Arthritis Center of the Medical College of Wisconsin (USA) (1986-1988), and upon return to Poland, a senior research associate at the Fourth Department of Internal Medicine of the Medical University of Silesia (1989-1995). In 1994, the President of the Republic of Poland awarded him with a title of professor. Since 1996, he is ahead of the Department of Internal Medicine and Rheumatology of the Medical University of Silesia in Katowice.

Professor Eugene J. Kucharz is board certified in internal medicine, laboratory diagnostics, rheumatology, and angiology. He participated in several educational programs include training in Budapest, Vienna, Florence, York and Toronto. Professor Eugene J. Kucharz is an author of 126 books or book chapters, 310 original papers, 237 review papers, and 304 papers on the history of medicine. He also publishes congress reports, book reviews as well as journalistic and literary papers. He published verses in English and Polish. He was a translator and editor of Polish versions of a few foreign medical handbooks. The main research achievements include: description of impaired collagen maturation in experimental collagen disease-like syndrome; modification of a method for hydroxyproline determination; description of impaired signal transduction in T cells of the patients with systemic lupus erythematosus in vitro and its reversal by lithium; description of a decreased secretion of interleukin-2 inhibitor in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus; description of disturbed collagen metabolism resulted from the thyroid dysfunction; description of dynamics of collagen accumulation in fibrotic liver and dynamics of an increase in collagen-degrading enzymes and formation of the concept of “turning point” between reversible and irreversible hepatic fibrosis; description of enhanced secretion of prolactin in patients with systemic sclerosis, proposal of chronic inflammation-enhanced atherosclerosis syndrome. His department is the only Polish centre treating systemic sclerosis patients with an autologous stem cell transplantation.