photo: arch.prywatne
Danuta Gutowska-Owsiak, M.D., PhD, D. Sc.
Professor at the University of Gdańsk
After graduating from the Medical University in Gdańsk, Danuta undertook research training at the University of Liverpool (PhD in 2010). In 2009 she joined the MRC Human Immunology Unit and the group of Prof. Graham Ogg at the prestigious Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine at the University of Oxford. There, she investigated the epidermal barrier and immunity of the skin during allergic inflammation in atopic dermatitis and basic mechanisms of the skin barrier formation; in 2017 she was distinguished with the “Young Investigator Award” by the British Society for Investigative Dermatology for her research contribution.
After 14 years abroad, in 2017, Danuta returned to Poland with her family to establish a new research group at the Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology UG-MUG (University of Gdańsk-Medical University of Gdańsk). This was possible with generous funding, i.e., the First TEAM, collaborative and equipment grants from the Foundation for Polish Science as well as the homing Marie Skłodowska-Curie COFUND Fellowship Polonez and Sonata BIS grants from the National Science Centre (>10 mln PLN in total).
Danuta and her team have developed an extensive research programme in immunology in the skin and beyond, investigating mechanism of antigen presentation and communication between cells in the context of allergy, infection, and cancer as well as the biology of the skin barrier. The team carries out both basic and translational research combining immunology with nanotechnology to propose novel therapeutic strategies.
