MARIA TROJANOWSKA

Dr. Trojanowska has obtained her PhD at the Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Polish Academy of Science in Warsaw, Poland and after completing her training in biochemistry and molecular biology, she was recruited by the late Prof. Carwile LeRoy to join Division of Rheumatology at the Medical University of South Carolina to study scleroderma (SSc). Her research has been dedicated to studying various aspects of this complex disease. Her laboratory has contributed significantly to the understanding of collagen gene regulation in healthy tissues and its dysregulation in fibrosis. More recently studies in her laboratory have focused on the molecular mechanisms underlying SSc vasculopathy. To facilitate these studies, her laboratory has developed new genetic mouse models that closely mimic features of SSc vascular disease, including PAH. The current work is focused on the cross-talk between the inflammation and the vascular injury in SSc. Since 2009 Dr. Trojanowska serves as Director of Arthritis Center at the Boston University School Of Medicine.