Rate My Professor Mariola Kurowska-Stolarska

Professor Mariola Kurowska-Stolarska is Professor of Immune Pathology and Homeostasis in the School of Infection & Immunity at the University of Glasgow, part of the College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences. Her research group investigates the active roles of tissue-resident macrophages and dendritic cells in joints, skin, and lungs with respect to maintaining healthy tissue homeostasis, their involvement in the pathology of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA), and mechanisms to reinstate tissue homeostasis during sustained disease remission. The lab adheres to a translational principle, interconnecting human and mouse research through advanced techniques including single-cell omics analyses, spatial transcriptomics, biopsy-derived micro-cocultures, synovial tissue organoid systems, and transgenic mouse models. It collaborates with clinical translational laboratories and experts in explainable artificial intelligence to assess the biomarker and therapeutic potential of discoveries in experimental medicine trials. The group is involved in FOREUM-funded multicentre consortia such as PsO-to-PsA and FLARE-RA, as well as the Versus Arthritis-funded Research into Inflammatory Arthritis Centre (RACE).

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.