Mauricio Rojas
Professor
Internal Medicine
Academic information
- Department: Internal Medicine
Research interests
- Stem cells
- Acute and chronic respiratory distress syndrome
About
Biography
I am a Professor and Vice Chair of Research in the Department of Internal Medicine. I received my undergraduate medical degree from the National University of Colombia and completed my postdoctoral training in Immunology at the Institute of Immunology in Colombia and Vanderbilt University. I have been a member of the American Thoracic Society since 2002.
Over the years, my work has been recognized with several awards, including the Pulmonary Star Award from Emory University in 2007 and the Early Career Award from the Department of Medicine in 2009. I also received the Dorothy Dillon Ewason Lecture Award from the American Federation of Aging (AFAR) in 2009, the Established Investigator Award from the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation in 2013, and the Faculty Translation Award from the Division of Pulmonary at the University of Pittsburgh. Additionally, I was honored with the Carol Basaum Award in 2014.
I co-founded the Stem Cell Working Group and the Aging Working Group, which I chaired while at the University of Pittsburgh. My passion lies in advancing research that improves understanding and treatment of lung diseases, particularly through innovative approaches in stem cell biology and aging.
My research focuses on Mesenchymal Stem Cells as a mechanism of lung repair and the study of lung aging as a critical factor in vulnerability to lung diseases. My ongoing projects include exploring the functional consequences of age-related exhaustion and senescence of mesenchymal cells and developing human preclinical models for lung therapies.
Credentials
Education
- BS
- Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogota, Colombia
- MD
- Universidad Nacional de Colombia Medical School, Bogota, Colombia
- Research Fellowship
- Institute of Immunology, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogota, Colombia
- Fellowship
- International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi, India
- Postdoctoral Fellowship
- Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, United States
Research
Research interests
- Stem cells
- Acute and chronic respiratory distress syndrome
Professional memberships
- Human Cell Atlas Lung Biological Network, 2020 - Present
- Center for Medicine & the Microbiome University of Pittsburgh, 2020 - 2020
- Aging Institute, University of Pittsburgh, 2019 - 2020
- McGowan Institute of Regenerative Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, 2010 - 2020
- European Respiratory Society, 2018 – Present
- Southern Society of Clinical Investigation, 2007 – Present
- International Society of Stem Cell Research #4900, 2004 – Present
- The Science Advisory Board. #64745, 2004 – Present
- American Thoracic Society #00074658, 2002 – Present
- New York Academy of Sciences #5019887, 2002 – Present
- American Association of Immunologists #00210067, 2002 – Present
- American Association for the Advancement of Science #042723589, 1997 - Present
Honors and awards
- Tenure, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, 2019 - 2020
- Co-Chair. Award Committee, Division of Pulmonary, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, 2019
- The Dozer Visiting Professor Award. Ben-Gurion University, Be’ersheva, Israel, 2017
- Honors Recognition University of Pittsburgh, 2015
- PACCM Faculty Translational Scholar Award. University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, 2014
- Carol Basbaum Award. ATS Assembly on Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology, 2014
- Established Investigator Award. Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation, 2013
- Travel Award – European Respiratory Society Conference. Estoril, Portugal, 2012
- Travel Award – Society of Critical Care Medicine 41st Congress, 2012
- Honors Recognition. University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, 2012
- Respiratory Cell & Molecular Biology Service Award. ATS International Conference, Denver, CO, 2011
- McGowan Institute of Regenerative Medicine Research Award. University of Pittsburgh, 2009
- Dorothy Dillon Eweson Lecture. American Federation for Aging, 2009
- Early Career Faculty Basic Research Award. Emory University Department of Medicine, 2009
- Pulmonary Start Award. Emory University, 2007
- President’s Commission on Race and Ethnicity (PCORE) Award. Emory University, 2006
- EMERGE Consortium in AAAS, 2005
- and the National Science Foundation (NSF) host Workshop, Atlanta, GA. Life Sciences. Minority Scientist Travel Award. American Association of Immunology, 2003
- Best Poster in Signal Transduction Field - Cancer Center, Vanderbilt University, 1997
- Recognition Award. Rotating Clinical Internship, Social Security Colombian Institute, 1987
Editorial activities
- Ireland The Health Research Board (HRB), 2017-2020
- NIH 2020/08 R35 Awards (IRG/SRG: ZHL1 CSR-R (O1)), 2020
- CIRM, Special COVID-19 program, 2020
- Science Foundation Ireland, 2019
- NIH 2019/08 R35 Awards (IRG/SRG: ZHL1 CSR-R (O1), 2019
- CMRF-University of Pittsburgh, 2019
- MRC UKRI, 2018-2019
- Evaluation Committee, PPG on Lung Aging, Division of Pulmonary, Northwestern University, Chicago, 2019
- NIH 2019/05 R21 Awards (ZHL1 CSR-X (M1)), 2019
- Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), Netherlands, 2019
- Department Of Defense: Peer Reviewed Medical Research Programs (PRMRP), 2019
- RFA-HL-17-015 Bold New Bioengineering Methods and Approaches (R21), 2018
- NIH ZRG1 CVRS-H (11) Study Section, 2017
- Canada Foundation for Innovation, 2017
- MRCI England, 2017
- RFA-HL-17-015 Bold New Bioengineering Methods and Approaches (R21), 2017
- The Lung Foundation Netherlands (LFN), (previous the Netherlands Asthma Foundation), 2016
- The Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMw), 2016
- Kentucky Science and Engineering Foundation, 2016
- NIH Special panel RFA-HL-16-003, 2016
- Ministry of Science, Technology and Space, Israel, 2015
- Spanish National Evaluation and Foresight Agency (ANEP), 2015
- ATS Foundation Research Review, 2014
- NYSTEM Program Scientific Peer Advisory and Review, 2014
- NIH-IMST 15 Cell, Computational, and Molecular Biology, 2013-2014
- Spanish National Evaluation and Foresight Agency (ANEP), 2013
- California Initiative for Regenerative Medicine, 2012
- NIH-IMST 15 Cell, Computational, and Molecular Biology, 2012
- ATS Foundation Research Review, 2012
- NYSTEM Program Scientific Peer Advisory and Review, 2012
- Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program, 2011-2018
- Cystic Fibrosis Center, Emory University, 2010
- Promotion of International Scientific Cooperation, Spain, 2009
- NIG, 2009
- Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Canada, 2009
- TRANSNET, Canada, 2009
- Board Medical Research Program / Inflammatory Bowel Disease Grants, 2009
- Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program, 2008
- California Initiative for Regenerative Medicine, 2008-2015
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research, 2008
- University Research Committee (URC) Grant Review Panel, Emory University, 2004