Rate My Professor Mariola Kurowska-Stolarska

Key discoveries from her laboratory include functionally distinct populations of synovial tissue macrophages (STMs), such as MerTK-positive TREM2-positive STMs associated with lubricin-producing fibroblasts that regulate tissue niches in health and remission, along with insights into their origins and niche signals involving pathways like MerTK and VSIG4. Studies on synovial tissue dendritic cells have identified 15 transcriptionally distinct myeloid DC clusters that differ between health, active RA, and remission, employing organoid systems and CRISPR-Cas9-engineered T-cells to explore their development and functions for promoting tolerogenic DCs. Additional projects include partnerships with pharmaceutical companies like Lilly. Prominent publications encompass MacDonald et al., 'Synovial tissue myeloid dendritic cell subsets exhibit distinct tissue-niche localization and function in health and rheumatoid arthritis' (Immunity, 2024); Alivernini et al., 'Using explainable artificial intelligence to predict and forestall flare in rheumatoid arthritis' (Nature Medicine, 2024); Ng et al., 'A single cell atlas of frozen shoulder capsule identifies features associated with inflammatory fibrosis resolution' (Nature Communications, 2024); and Alivernini et al., 'Synovial tissue macrophages in joint homeostasis, rheumatoid arthritis and disease remission' (Nature Reviews Rheumatology, 2022). Her contributions elucidate immune cell dynamics in inflammatory diseases, informing therapeutic targets and biomarkers for precision medicine.