Dr hab. Danuta Gutowska - Owsiak, prof. UG, has officially received a Full Professorship
We are pleased to announce that by the decree of the President of the Republic of Poland on February 18, 2026, Dr hab. Danuta Gutowska-Owsiak, prof. UG, has been awarded the title of Professor of Medical and Health Sciences in the discipline of medical sciences.
Prof. Danuta Gutowska-Owsiak, MD, PhD, DSc, completed her medical studies at the Medical University of Gdańsk. She obtained her PhD from the University of Liverpool, where she investigated the role of NKT cells in rheumatoid arthritis. She subsequently undertook an eight-year postdoctoral fellowship at the MRC Human Immunology Unit at the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, where she studied the mechanisms regulating the epidermal barrier and the role of immune cells in inflammatory and allergic diseases.
Since the beginning of her scientific career, Prof. Gutowska-Owsiak has been conducting research in the field of experimental and translational immunology. Her main research interests focus on the mechanisms regulating the formation of the epidermal barrier and immune responses in the skin, particularly processes leading to the development of allergic diseases such as atopic dermatitis. Her research focuses on the communication between immune cells and epithelial cells of the skin, as well as on the role of extracellular vesicles in regulating immune responses and initiating inflammatory reactions. The findings obtained by Prof. Gutowska-Owsiak’s lab provide a basis for the development of new therapeutic strategies for allergic diseases.
The research toolkit used in the Laboratory of Experimental and Translational Immunology includes a wide range of molecular biology, cell biology, and immunology techniques. Studies are conducted using in vitro models and analyses of biological material, including functional assays of immune cells, investigation of intercellular communication mechanisms, and characterization of extracellular vesicles.
Prof. Danuta Gutowska-Owsiak is the author of over 40 publications in international journals with a cumulative impact factor exceeding 200. Her work has been cited more than 3,400 times. Her research has been published in prestigious international journals, including Science Translational Medicine, The Journal of Experimental Medicine, Frontiers in Immunology, and Journal of Extracellular Vesicles. She has led numerous research projects funded by national and international sources, including prestigious grants such as First TEAM and First TEAM FENG from the Foundation for Polish Science, Sonata BIS and OPUS from the National Science Centre, as well as the Polonez Fellowship (Marie Skłodowska-Curie COFUND). She also actively participates in international research networks within the COST Action programme.
She previously served as co-chair of the European Epidermal Barrier Research Network (E2BRN) and is currently the chair of the Gdańsk branch of the Polish Society for Experimental and Clinical Immunology. For her scientific and organizational achievements, she has received several awards, including the Young Investigator Award from the British Society for Investigative Dermatology and the Science Diplomacy Star Award for activities supporting the internationalization of scientific collaboration and the development of international research partnerships.
