Rate My Professor Maria Trojanowska

Maria Trojanowska, PhD, serves as Professor in the Department of Medicine, Rheumatology section at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and Director of the Arthritis & Autoimmune Diseases Research Center. She earned her MSc from the University of Warsaw and PhD from the Polish Academy of Sciences. Throughout her career at Boston University, Trojanowska has held memberships in key research entities, including the BU-BMC Cancer Center, Pulmonary Center, Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research, and Genome Science Institute. As a Graduate Medical Sciences educator and primary mentor for graduate students, she contributes significantly to training the next generation of researchers in rheumatology and related fields.

Trojanowska's research investigates the molecular and cellular mechanisms regulating extracellular matrix (ECM) synthesis in healthy tissues and pathological conditions, including fibrosis and tumorigenesis. Her primary focus is the pathogenesis of scleroderma, or systemic sclerosis (SSc), an autoimmune disease characterized by vascular abnormalities and prominent skin fibrosis. Employing molecular, cellular approaches, and experimental models, her laboratory elucidates mechanisms of uncontrolled ECM deposition and vessel degeneration in SSc. Additional efforts address tumor stroma activation, dysregulation of ECM turnover in connective tissue during cancer development, and the role of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in SSc, in collaboration with Dr. Robert Lafyatis. With 191 peer-reviewed publications, notable works include "Mechanisms of fibrotic tissue remodelling: insights from systemic sclerosis" (Nature Reviews Rheumatology, 2026), "An international perspective on the future of systemic sclerosis research" (Nature Reviews Rheumatology, 2025), and "Endothelial GATA6 deficiency suppresses intracellular TLR3-interferon signaling" (bioRxiv, 2025). As principal investigator, she has secured multiple NIH R01 grants, such as "Lymphatic ERG signaling in scleroderma fibrosis" (2022-2027) and "GATA-6 in pulmonary arterial hypertension" (2020-2025), alongside funding from the Scleroderma Foundation, underscoring her impact on advancing fibrotic disease research.