Faculty
P. Reidar. Wallin, Ph.D., Research Associate Professor of Internal Medicine-Rheumatology.
Dr. Wallin obtained his PhD degree in Biochemistry at the University of Oslo in Oslo, Norway. He also had additional training in Biochemistry at the University of Tromso in Norway as well as postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison . Dr. Wallin's research is focused in the area of Vitamin K and vitamin K metabolism. Coumadin, a widely used anticoagulant, is an antagonist to vitamin K. This fat-soluble vitamin is essential for hepatic biosynthesis f certain coagulation factors and also six to eight extrahepatic proteins. Two of these proteins, osteocalcin and matrix G1a protein, are present in bone and matrix, G1a protein is also present in cartilage. D. Wallin's laboratory has developed a system to study the molecular mechanisms of Coumadin action. He is currently isolating the Coumadin-sensitive enzyme present in the vitamin K cycle with a goal to gain knowledge for the better design of anticoagulant drugs and to reveal the molecular cause of Coumadin resistance.