Maya Kotas, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor
Medicine
School of Medicine

She serves as an attending physician in the intensive care units at UCSF.

Dr. Kotas's research focuses on the role of the innate immune system in regulating the biology of the airway epithelium. Her work utilizes mouse modeling and patient samples to better understand how the immune system reshapes the cells that line the airway during allergic diseases. The goal of this work is to discover new targets for treatment of allergic airway diseases.

• IL-13-programmed airway tuft cells produce PGE2, which promotes CFTR-dependent mucociliary function.
  JCI insight 2022 Kotas ME, Moore CM, Gurrola JG, Pletcher SD, Goldberg AN, Alvarez R, Yamato S, Bratcher PE, Shaughnessy CA, Zeitlin PL, Zhang IH, Li Y, Montgomery MT, Lee K, Cope EK, Locksley RM, Seibold MA, Gordon …
• Innate type 2 immunity controls hair follicle commensalism by Demodex mites.
  The Journal of Immunology 2022 Roberto R Ricardo-Gonzalez, Maya E Kotas, Claire O’Leary, Iliana Tenvooren, Diana Marquez, Katelyn Singh, William Damsky, Chang Liao, Andrew Schroeder, Jarish Cohen, Marlys S Fassett, Jinwoo Lee, …
• Bile acid-sensitive tuft cells regulate biliary neutrophil influx.
  Science immunology 2022 O'Leary CE, Sbierski-Kind J, Kotas ME, Wagner JC, Liang HE, Schroeder AW, de Tenorio JC, von Moltke J, Ricardo-Gonzalez RR, Eckalbar WL, Molofsky AB, Schneider C, Locksley RM
• Toward Optimal Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Outcomes: Recognizing the Syndrome and Identifying Its Causes.
  Critical care clinics 2021 Kotas ME, Thompson BT
• CISH constrains the tuft-ILC2 circuit to set epithelial and immune tone.
  Mucosal immunology 2021 Kotas ME, Mroz NM, Koga S, Liang HE, Schroeder AW, Ricardo-Gonzalez RR, Schneider C, Locksley RM
• A role for IL-33-activated ILC2s in eosinophilic vasculitis.
  JCI insight 2021 Kotas ME, Dion J, Van Dyken S, Ricardo-Gonzalez RR, Danel CJ, Taillé C, Mouthon L, Locksley RM, Terrier B
• Why Innate Lymphoid Cells?
  Immunity 2018 Kotas ME, Locksley RM
• Mesenchymal stromal cells and macrophages in sepsis: new insights.
  The European respiratory journal 2018 Kotas ME, Matthay MA
• Central serotonergic neurons activate and recruit thermogenic brown and beige fat and regulate glucose and lipid homeostasis.
  Cell metabolism 2015 McGlashon JM, Gorecki MC, Kozlowski AE, Thirnbeck CK, Markan KR, Leslie KL, Kotas ME, Potthoff MJ, Richerson GB, Gillum MP
• Homeostasis, inflammation, and disease susceptibility.
  Cell 2015 Kotas ME, Medzhitov R
• cAMP-responsive element-binding protein (CREB)-regulated transcription coactivator 2 (CRTC2) promotes glucagon clearance and hepatic amino acid catabolism to regulate glucose homeostasis.
  The Journal of biological chemistry 2013 Erion DM, Kotas ME, McGlashon J, Yonemitsu S, Hsiao JJ, Nagai Y, Iwasaki T, Murray SF, Bhanot S, Cline GW, Samuel VT, Shulman GI, Gillum MP
• Sirtuin-1 is a nutrient-dependent modulator of inflammation.
  Adipocyte 2013 Kotas ME, Gorecki MC, Gillum MP
• Role of caspase-1 in regulation of triglyceride metabolism.
  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2013 Kotas ME, Jurczak MJ, Annicelli C, Gillum MP, Cline GW, Shulman GI, Medzhitov R
• SirT1 regulates adipose tissue inflammation.
  Diabetes 2011 Gillum MP, Kotas ME, Erion DM, Kursawe R, Chatterjee P, Nead KT, Muise ES, Hsiao JJ, Frederick DW, Yonemitsu S, Banks AS, Qiang L, Bhanot S, Olefsky JM, Sears DD, Caprio S, Shulman GI
• Impact of CD1d deficiency on metabolism.
  PloS one 2011 Kotas ME, Lee HY, Gillum MP, Annicelli C, Guigni BA, Shulman GI, Medzhitov R
• Comparative Evaluation of Methods Used for Sampling Malaria Vectors in the Kilombero Valley, South Eastern Tanzania.
  The Open Tropical Medicine Journal 2008 Fredros O. Okumu, Maya E. Kotas, Japheth Kihonda, Evan Mathenge, Gerry F. Killeen, Sarah J. Moore
• Replacement of bone marrow by bone in rat femurs: the bone bioreactor.
  Tissue engineering. Part A 2008 Zhang Q, Cuartas E, Mehta N, Gilligan J, Ke HZ, Saltzman WM, Kotas M, Ma M, Rajan S, Chalouni C, Carlson J, Vignery A
• Replacement of Bone Marrow by Bone in Rat Femurs: The Bone Bioreactor.
  Tissue Engineering 2008 Qing Zhang, Esteban Cuartas, Nozer Mehta, James Gilligan, Hua-Zhu Ke, W. Mark Saltzman, Maya Kotas, Mandy Ma, Sonali Rajan, Cécile Chalouni, Jodi Carlson, Agnès Vignery
• Cost-sharing strategies combining targeted public subsidies with private-sector delivery achieve high bednet coverage and reduced malaria transmission in Kilombero Valley, southern Tanzania.
  BMC infectious diseases 2007 Killeen GF, Tami A, Kihonda J, Okumu FO, Kotas ME, Grundmann H, Kasigudi N, Ngonyani H, Mayagaya V, Nathan R, Abdulla S, Charlwood JD, Smith TA, Lengeler C
• Quantifying behavioural interactions between humans and mosquitoes: evaluating the protective efficacy of insecticidal nets against malaria transmission in rural Tanzania.
  BMC infectious diseases 2006 Killeen GF, Kihonda J, Lyimo E, Oketch FR, Kotas ME, Mathenge E, Schellenberg JA, Lengeler C, Smith TA, Drakeley CJ