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Mariusz Zareba

Mariusz Zareba graduated from one of the oldest universities in Europe – Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland. He received his Ph.D. from the same institution in 1999 while he was researching the role of neuromelanin in etiology of Parkinson’s disease. Melanins, and particularly their role in oxidative stress-related biological processes, were Mariusz’s subject of interest for many years. In the mid 2000s he joined the Department of Ophthalmology at the Medical College of Wisconsin where he started to use advanced microscopic techniques, such as live cell imaging, to study the role of melanosomes in Retinal Pigment Epithelium. His research was primarily focused on the protective role of melanosomes in the context of Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

During his years at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Mariusz studied primary cells isolated from human and animal ocular tissues, as well as various cell lines, and he developed a passion for exploring living systems with various microscopic techniques. Interest in collecting images of microscopic objects is complemented by Mariusz’s other passion- photography.

Later on, Mariusz managed several microscopes (including live cell imaging, confocal and super-resolution) in the Department of Ophthalmology and Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Anatomy. He collaborated with both clinical and basic science investigators and helped them with experimental and imaging work. He joined Dr. Eva Johannes in CMIF in October 2017.

YearPublications
2016 Zareba M, Widomska J, Burke J, Subczynski WK. Nitroxide free radicals protect macular carotenoids against chemical destruction (bleaching) during lipid peroxidation. Free Radic. Biol. Med. 101:446-454
2016 Widomska J., Zareba M. , Subczynski K. Can Xanthophyll-Membrane Interactions Explain Their Selective Presence in the Retina and Brain? Foods, 5(1), 7
2014Zareba M., Skumatz C.M., Sarna T.J., Burke J.M. Photic injury to cultured RPE varies among individual cells in proportion to their endogenous lipofuscin content as modulated by their melanosome content. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 55(8):4982-90
2013Olchawa M.M., Herrnreiter A.M., Skumatz C.M, Zareba M., Sarna T.J., Burke J.M.Photosensitized oxidative stress to ARPE-19 cells decreases protein receptors that mediate photoreceptor outer segment phagocytosis. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 54:2276-87.
2012 Kaczara P., Zareba M., Herrnreiter A., Skumatz C. M., Zadlo A., Sarna T., Burke J. M. Melanosome-Iron Interactions within Retinal Pigment Epithelium-Derived Cells Pigment Cell Melanoma Res. 25:804-814.
2011Burke J. M., Kaczara P, Skumatz C.M.B, Zareba M. , Raciti M., Sarna T.Dynamic Analyses Reveal Cytoprotection by RPE Melanosomes against Non-Photic Stress Mol Vision 17:2864-2877.
2010Olchawa M., Szewczyk G., Zareba M. , Pila A., Bzowska M., Mikolajczyk T. and Sarna T. Sub-lethal Photodynamic Damage to ARPE–19 Cells Efficiently Inhibits Their Phagocytic Activity. Photochem. Photobiol. 86:772-780.
2009Burke J. M., Zareba M. Sub-lethal photic stress and the motility of RPE phagosomes and melanosomes. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 50:1940-1947.
2008Zecca L., Casella L., Albertini A., Bellei C., Zucca F.A., Engelen M., Zadlo A., Szewczyk G., Zareba M., and Sarna T. Neuromelanin can protect against iron-mediated oxidative damage in system modeling iron overload of brain aging and Parkinson's disease. J. Neurochem. 106:1866-75.
2007Zareba M., Sarna T., Szewczyk G., and Burke J. M. II. Photobleaching of Melanosomes from Retinal Pigment Epithelium: Effects on the Response of Living Cells to Photic Stress. Photochem. Photobiol. 83:925-930.
2007Burke J. M., Henry M. M., Zareba M. , and Sarna T. I. Photobleaching of melanosomes from retinal pigment epithelium: Effects on protein oxidation. Photochem. Photobiol. 83:920-924.
2006Zareba M., Szewczyk G., Sarna T.., Hong L., Simon J. D., Henry M. M., & Burke J. M. Effects of photodegradation on the physical and antioxidant properties of melanosomes isolated from retinal pigment epithelium. Photochem. Photobiol. 82, 1024-1029.
2006Zareba M. , Raciti M. W., Henry M. M., Sarna T., and Burke J. M. Oxidative stress in ARPE-19 cultures: do melanosomes confer cytoprotection? Free Radic. Biol. Med. 40, 87-100.
2005Zareba M., Niziolek M., Korytowski W., and Girotti A. W. Merocyanine 540-sensitized photokilling of leukemia cells: role of post-irradiation chain peroxidation of plasma membrane lipids as revealed by nitric oxide protection. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1722, 51-59.
2004Swartz, H. M., Mason R. P., Hogg N., Kalyanaraman B., Sarna T., Plonka P. M., Zareba M., Gutierrez P. L., and Berliner L. J.Free Radicals and Medicine. In Biomedical ESR, Part A: Free Radicals, Metals, Medicine, and Physiology. (Edited by S. S. Eaton, G. R. Eaton, and L. J. Berliner), pp. 25-74. Kluwer Academic Publishers, New York.
2004Rozanowska M., Pawlak A., Rozanowski B., Skumatz C., Zareba M., Boulton M. B., Burke J. M., Sarna T., and Simon J. D. Age-related changes in the photoreactivity of retinal lipofuscin granules: role of chloroform-insoluble components. Invest Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 45, 1052-1060.
2003Sarna T., Burke J. M., Korytowski W., Rozanowska M., C. M. Skumatz, Zareba A. and Zareba M. Loss of melanin from human RPE with aging: possible role of melanin photooxidation. Exp. Eye Res. 76, 89-98.
2003Pawlak A., Wrona M., Rozanowska M., Zareba M. , Lamb L. E., Roberts J. E., Simon J. D., and Sarna T.Comparison of the aerobic photoreactivity of A2E with its precursor retinal. Photochem. Photobiol. 77, 253-258.
2002Pawlak A., Rozanowska M., Zareba M., Lamb L. E., J. D. Simon, and Sarna T. Action spectra for the photoconsumption of oxygen by human ocular lipofuscin and lipofuscin extracts. Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 403, 59-62.
2001Lamb L. E., Zareba M., Plakoudas S. N., Sarna T., and Simon J. D. Retinyl palmitate and the blue-light-induced phototoxicity of human ocular lipofuscin. Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 393, 316-320.
2001Davies S., Elliott M. H., Floor E., Truscott T. G., Zareba M., Sarna T., Shamsi F. A., and Boulton M. E. Photocytotoxicity of lipofuscin in human retinal pigment epithelial cells. Free Radic. Biol. Med. 31, 256-265.
2000Korytowski W., Zareba M. , and Girotti A. W.Nitric oxide inhibition of free radical-mediated cholesterol peroxidation in liposomal membranes. Biochemistry 39, 6918-6928.
2000Korytowski W., Zareba M., and Girotti A. W. Inhibition of free radical-mediated cholesterol peroxidation by diazeniumdiolate-derived nitric oxide: effect of release rate on mechanism of action in a membrane system. Chem. Res. Toxicol. 13, 1265-1274.
1998Sarna T., Rozanowska M., Zareba M., Korytowski W., and Boulton M. E. Retinal melanin and lipofuscin: possible role in photoprotection and phototoxicity of the human RPE. ICP '96. Proceedings of the 12th International Congress on Photobiology 418-421.
1995Korytowski W., Sarna T., and Zareba M.. Antioxidant action of neuromelanin: the mechanism of inhibitory effect on lipid peroxidation. Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 319, 142-148.
1995Zareba M., Bober A., Korytowski W., Zecca L., and Sarna T. The effect of a synthetic neuromelanin on yield of free hydroxyl radicals generated in model systems. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1271, 343-348.