JoAnn Trejo

JoAnn Trejo, Ph.D., M.B.A., is Professor of Pharmacology in the School of Medicine at the University of California, San Diego. She earned a B.S. in Toxicology and Biochemistry from the University of California, Davis in 1986, a Ph.D. in Physiology and Pharmacology from the UC San Diego School of Medicine in 1992, completed postdoctoral training in Vascular Cell Biology and Signaling at the University of California, San Francisco Cardiovascular Research Institute in 1999, and obtained an M.B.A. in Finance, Leadership, and Management from the UC San Diego Rady School of Management in 2015. Trejo launched her independent research career as Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in 2000. Recruited to UC San Diego as tenured Associate Professor in 2008, she was promoted to full Professor in 2012 and appointed Vice Chair of the Department of Pharmacology in 2014. In administrative roles within UC San Diego Health Sciences, she served as Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs starting in 2015, Assistant Vice Chancellor in 2019, and currently holds the position of Senior Assistant Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences Faculty Affairs since 2023.

Trejo's research specializes in the cell signaling mechanisms controlled by G protein-coupled receptors, with a focus on protease-activated receptors regulating vascular inflammation, endothelial barrier dysfunction, sepsis, cytoprotection, and breast cancer progression. Her laboratory has pioneered discoveries including ubiquitin-driven GPCR inflammatory signaling at endosomes, novel lysosomal sorting pathways involving ALIX and alpha-arrestin ARRDC3, and biased signaling determinants, detailed in over 100 peer-reviewed publications such as 'An siRNA library screen identifies CYLD and USP34 as deubiquitinases that regulate GPCR-p38 MAPK signaling and distinct inflammatory responses' (J. Biol. Chem., 2023), 'aPC/PAR1 confers endothelial anti-apoptotic activity via a discrete β-arrestin-2-mediated Sphk1-S1PR1-Akt signaling axis' (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 2021), and 'Ubiquitin plays an atypical role in GPCR-induced p38 MAP kinase activation on endosomes' (J. Cell Biol., 2015). Continuously funded by the NIH for more than 20 years, including R01 and R35 MIRA awards, she has received the American Heart Association Established Investigator Award (2006), American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Ruth Kirchstein Outstanding Scientist Award (2015), American Society for Cell Biology E.E. Just Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement (2017), UC San Diego Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Postdoctoral Scholar Mentoring (2014), and was elected to the National Academy of Medicine (2021), American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow (2025), and Honorary Fellow of the British Pharmacological Society (2024). A prominent mentor and leader in inclusive excellence, Trejo has trained over 100 scientists, developed key programs like the Health Sciences Faculty Mentor Training Program and Grant Writing Course, chaired Gordon Research Conferences and FASEB meetings, served on NIH study sections, HHMI and NCI panels, and councils of the American Society for Cell Biology and American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Professional Email: joanntrejo@ucsd.edu