Professor at the University of Gdańsk
Danuta Gutowska-Owsiak graduated from the Medical University in Gdańsk, Poland, and then moved to the UK, where she undertook doctoral training at the University of Liverpool, investigating NKT cells in rheumatoid arthritis (PhD in 2010); she also undertook short research training at INSERM in Paris during that time. In 2009 she moved to Oxford where she joined the MRC Human Immunology Unit and the group of Prof. Graham Ogg at the prestigious Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine. There she started a line of research on formation of skin barrier and its regulation by inflammation in skin disease. In 2017 Danuta was distinguished with the “Young Investigator Award” by the British Society for Investigative Dermatology for her substantial contribution to the dermatology research.
Danuta was awarded a prestigious National Science Centre-EU Marie Skłodowska-Curie COFUND fellowship POLONEZ as well as First TEAM startup grant from the Foundation for Polish Science, which allowed her to initiate a programme of immunological research at the Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology UG-MUG in Gdańsk. Following this, she obtained several rounds of funding from FNP, as well as Sonata BIS and Opus grants to consolidate her research; she is also involved in the EU COST action. Recently, she was nominated to join AcademiaNet, the network of distinguished female researchers in Europe and beyond. In 2024 she was elected as a Co-chair of the European Epithelial Barrier Research Network (E2BRN).
Danuta has a strong interest in both epidermal barrier formation and the immunity of the skin, as well as extracellular vesicles as mediators of cellular communication. Together with her team, she investigates allergic inflammation as well as basic immunological mechanisms of T cell biology, including more translational angle.
