Maria I. Morasso, Ph.D.

Emeritus Investigator

Chief, Laboratory of Skin Biology

Maria I. Morasso, Ph.D.

Contact Information

Summary

Maria Morasso, Ph.D. received an M.Sc. in Immunology and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas, Venezuela. Her postdoctoral training was in the Laboratory of Molecular Genetics in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH. In 2000, Dr. Morasso moved to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, NIH where she was a senior investigator and chief of the Laboratory of Skin Biology. Dr. Morasso also served as an adjunct investigator at the Center for Cancer Research, NCI. In 2024 she became an emeritus investigator at NIAMS.

The Morasso lab studied the function of specific transcriptional regulators and pathways in molecular and cellular processes that contribute to epidermal differentiation and barrier formation, wound repair and the mechanisms underlying the pathologies of ectodermal dysplasias (EDs).

Scientific Publications

Human oral mucosa cell atlas reveals a stromal-neutrophil axis regulating tissue immunity.

Williams DW, Greenwell-Wild T, Brenchley L, Dutzan N, Overmiller A, Sawaya AP, Webb S, Martin D, NIDCD/NIDCR Genomics and Computational Biology Core, Hajishengallis G, Divaris K, Morasso M, Haniffa M, Moutsopoulos NM
Cell.
2021 Jul 22;
184(15).
doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.05.013
PMID: 34129837

Loss of DLX3 tumor suppressive function promotes progression of SCC through EGFR-ERBB2 pathway.

Bajpai D, Mehdizadeh S, Uchiyama A, Inoue Y, Sawaya A, Overmiller A, Brooks SR, Hasneen K, Kellett M, Palazzo E, Motegi SI, Yuspa SH, Cataisson C, Morasso MI
Oncogene.
2021 May;
40(21).
doi: 10.1038/s41388-021-01802-9
PMID: 33947961

Deregulated immune cell recruitment orchestrated by FOXM1 impairs human diabetic wound healing.

Sawaya AP, Stone RC, Brooks SR, Pastar I, Jozic I, Hasneen K, O'Neill K, Mehdizadeh S, Head CR, Strbo N, Morasso MI, Tomic-Canic M
Nat Commun.
2020 Sep 16;
11(1).
doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-18276-0
PMID: 32938916

SOX2 Epidermal Overexpression Promotes Cutaneous Wound Healing via Activation of EGFR/MEK/ERK Signaling Mediated by EGFR Ligands.

Uchiyama A, Nayak S, Graf R, Cross M, Hasneen K, Gutkind JS, Brooks SR, Morasso MI
J Invest Dermatol.
2019 Aug;
139(8).
doi: 10.1016/j.jid.2019.02.004
PMID: 30772301

Do DLX3 and CD271 Protect Human Keratinocytes from Squamous Tumor Development?

Palazzo E, Marconi A, Pincelli C, Morasso MI
Int J Mol Sci.
2019 Jul 19;
20(14).
doi: 10.3390/ijms20143541
PMID: 31331058

Ectodermal dysplasias: Classification and organization by phenotype, genotype and molecular pathway.

Wright JT, Fete M, Schneider H, Zinser M, Koster MI, Clarke AJ, Hadj-Rabia S, Tadini G, Pagnan N, Visinoni AF, Bergendal B, Abbott B, Fete T, Stanford C, Butcher C, D'Souza RN, Sybert VP, Morasso MI
Am J Med Genet A.
2019 Mar;
179(3).
doi: 10.1002/ajmg.a.61045
PMID: 30703280

Enamel Anomalies in a Pachyonychia Congenita Patient with a Mutation in KRT16.

Duverger O, Cross MA, Smith FJD, Morasso MI
J Invest Dermatol.
2019 Jan;
139(1).
doi: 10.1016/j.jid.2018.07.005
PMID: 30009827

Transcriptional signature primes human oral mucosa for rapid wound healing.

Iglesias-Bartolome R, Uchiyama A, Molinolo AA, Abusleme L, Brooks SR, Callejas-Valera JL, Edwards D, Doci C, Asselin-Labat ML, Onaitis MW, Moutsopoulos NM, Gutkind JS, Morasso MI
Sci Transl Med.
2018 Jul 25;
10(451).
doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aap8798
PMID: 30045979

Hair keratin mutations in tooth enamel increase dental decay risk.

Duverger O, Ohara T, Shaffer JR, Donahue D, Zerfas P, Dullnig A, Crecelius C, Beniash E, Marazita ML, Morasso MI
J Clin Invest.
2014 Dec;
124(12).
doi: 10.1172/JCI78272
PMID: 25347471
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