BOGDAN NOWICKI
Professor Bogdan Jozef Nowicki completed his residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. He is a fellow of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Clinical Director of STAR Wellness Clinic, Franklin, TN., and retired Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Microbiology, and Immunology at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, TN, and the University of Texas, Galveston, TX, USA.
Professor Bogdan J Nowicki held multiple leadership positions in academic and business enterprises. In 2016, he assumed the position of vice president of research at the Nowicki Institute for Women’s Health Research. In 2013– 2016, he was elected Vice-Chair of the Faculty Senate at Meharry Medical College. From 2012 to 2016, he was a member of the Scientific Review Committee, CTSA, Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (VICTR). Other leadership positions included Deputy Director for Clinical and Translational Research Meharry Clinical and Translational Research Center (MeTRC) and Chair, Scientific Review Committee, Meharry Clinical and Translational Research Center (MeTRC), Tenured Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Sealy Center for Vaccine Development, UTMB, Director of Research, Infectious Disease Division, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, UTMB, Galveston, TX, USA.
He is recognized as a world-leading molecular and clinical academic scientist and served on multiple NIH review panels and committees during his lifelong academic career. His primary research interests included microbial virulence and the pathogenesis of renal infections in pregnancy. He not only publishes extensively in top peer-reviewed journals (over 100 publications, multiple book chapters, and international presentations/plenary lectures) but also excels in large-scale funding for translational research institutional programs and infrastructure focused on developing a young cadre of clinical scientists (with a total value of more than $37M). Among awards and recognitions, the Polish American Society recognized Professor Bogdan J Nowicki for his outstanding contributions to research in Immunology, Microbiology, and Women’s Health and elected him an Honorary Member of the Society.
His patient care experience involves significant practice throughout his career, including clinical service in Poland and the US. At MMC/Metro General Hospital and St. Thomas Hospital, he provided obstetrics and gynecology services to underserved and low-income patients. He is well acquainted with the needs and challenges of the patient populations and the institution providing critically ill patients with medical support. He focused on improving service to needy patients, especially regarding engaging OB/GYN residents in training and medical students. He has been committed and supportive of surrounding community satellite clinics and working with community healthcare partners.
In addition to OB/GYN care, since 2015, Dr. Nowicki has provided comprehensive addiction recovery assistance for both pregnant and non-pregnant patients. Dr. Nowicki has carried a DEA-X license for the maintenance and detoxification treatment of opioid addiction since 2015. He provided opioid addiction treatment at Pro-Health Clinic in Franklin (2015-2016), at A+ Wellness in Nashville (2016-2017), Mt. Juliet Clinic (2017-2018), and currently at Star Nowicki Clinic in Spring Hill, TN. Total 6480 direct hrs. of clinical service for patients with addiction between 2015-2021 (current).
Research Contributions: One of the major problems in human health is morbidity and mortality due to chronic or recurrent renal and gestational infections. Over three decades, our laboratory has uncovered significant, perhaps fundamental, mechanisms of steroid-hormone-regulated immune responses that control host risk for immune injury and/or infection. Our observations can change paradigms across broad biomedical fields crucial for understanding pathogenesis, diagnosis, and therapeutic strategies for reducing human morbidity and mortality. We found that chronic renal infections are caused by E. coli bearing a ligand, Dr adhesin, which recognizes renal interstitial receptors to establish persistent intracellular infection leading to subclinical renal injury. We propose that hormonal adaptations of pregnancy are the unique time during which this process is hazardous to the fetal-maternal unit. Respectively, our team was the first to clone E. coli ligand Dr adhesin and show that CD55 (DAF), a molecule that protects our tissues from immune injury, is a tissue receptor for E. coli (NEJM, 1988). We developed the first atomic model of CD55 and Dr adhesin (Mol. Cell 2005). We uncovered that steroid hormone and two host factors, nitric oxide and TLR4 (Am J Physio 2005), responses increase the feto-maternal risk for infectious complications. Our translational research expanded aspects of our primary findings on CD55 into infertility, endometrial carcinoma, renal transplant, preterm labor (AJRI 2009, JAMA 2000), and the mechanisms of septicemia. Current studies explore CD55 as a therapeutic target for steroid hormones in the context of chronic inflammation, obesity, and cardiovascular diseases. Building on his work in chronic inflammatory pathologies, he has expanded his research to focus on addiction. Through a retrospective analysis of risk factors for opioid addiction, he is delving into clinical translational work that explores addiction risk factors among patient populations affected by opioid addiction, with a particular emphasis on the potential predictive factor of surgery (manuscript in preparation).
Bogdan Jozef Nowicki MD, PhD
Clinical Director, STAR Wellness Clinic
101 Forrest Crossing Blvd #105b, Franklin, TN 37064
Mob No: 615-440-9837
E-Mail bnowicki1949@gmail.com