Maksim V. Plikus
Biography
Maksim V. Plikus, Ph.D., is Professor in the Department of Developmental and Cell Biology, School of Biological Sciences, at the University of California, Irvine. A scholar in the fields of skin biology and regenerative medicine, Plikus has spent nearly two decades studying hair follicle regeneration, wound healing, and the interactions between epithelial stem cells and their surrounding tissue environments. His research has revealed fundamental mechanisms of how stem cells coordinate their activity during tissue regeneration, including the discovery of cyclic dermal BMP signaling in hair regeneration and the identification of adipocyte regeneration from myofibroblasts during wound healing.
Plikus received a Pew Charitable Trust Biomedical Scholar award (2016-2020), an Edward Mallinckrodt, Jr. Foundation award (2013-2016), and the H.W. Mossman award in Developmental Biology from the American Association of Anatomists (2018). He also received a W.M. Keck Foundation grant (2022) and the LEO Foundation award for Region Americas (2019). His work has been published in Nature, Science, Cell, and other journals, with his 2008 Nature paper on cyclic dermal BMP signaling and his 2017 Science paper on adipocyte regeneration from myofibroblasts during wound healing representing key contributions to understanding tissue regeneration mechanisms.
Plikus has served as Co-chief editor of Experimental Dermatology (2019-2021) and currently serves as Section co-editor for the Journal of Investigative Dermatology. He is a member of the Society for Investigative Dermatology, the North American Hair Research Society, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Plikus received a Ph.D. in Pathology from the University of Southern California.
Return to topDistinctions
- H.W. Mossman Award in Developmental Biology, American Association of Anatomists, 2018
- LEO Foundation Award, Region Americas, 2019
- Pew Charitable Trust Biomedical Scholar award, 2016-2020
- Edward Mallinckrodt, Jr. Foundation award, 2013-2016
- Dermatology Foundation Award, 2013-2014
- Innovator of the Year, UC Irvine Beall Applied Innovation, 2022
- Faculty Innovation Fellow, UC Irvine Beall Applied Innovation, 2021
Areas of Expertise
- Developmental and Regenerative Biology
- Hair Follicle Stem Cell Dynamics
- Dermal Adipocyte Function
- Circadian Clock Regulation
- Senescent Melanocyte Signaling
- Fibroblast Heterogeneity in Wounds
- Lipid-Filled Cartilage Biomechanics
Recent Publications
- Ramos R., Liu R., Park J.M., Nordberg R.C., Bielajew B.J., Hu J.C., Parmar B., Garcia-Castro M.I., Athanasiou K.A., Plikus M.V., “Isolation, purification and characterization of lipocartilage in mice” (opens in new tab), Nature Protocols, 2026.
- Ramos R, Pham KT, Prince RC, Leiser-Miller LB, Prasad MS, Wang X, Nordberg RC, Bielajew BJ, Hu JC, Yamaga K, Oh JW, Peng T, Datta R, Astrowskaja A, Almet AA, Burns JT, Liu Y, Guerrero-Juarez CF, Tran BQ, Chu YL, et al., “Superstable lipid vacuoles endow cartilage with its shape and biomechanics” (opens in new tab), Science, vol. 387, no. 6730, pp. eads9960, 2025.
- Chang LY, Plikus MV, Jablonski NG, Lin SJ, “Evolution of long scalp hair in humans” (opens in new tab), British Journal of Dermatology, vol. 192, pp. 574-584, 2025.
- Liu R, Plikus MV, “Fish gills and human ears share the same genetic blueprint” (opens in new tab), Nature, vol. 639, pp. 579-580, 2025.
- Ramos R, Plikus MV, “Skin-associated cartilage is a distinct type of lipid-filled tissue” (opens in new tab), Journal of Investigative Dermatology, vol. 145, pp. 1275-1278, 2025.
- Butenko S, Plikus MV, “Osteopontin de-escalates the foreign body response” (opens in new tab), Nature Biomedical Engineering, vol. 9, pp. 1173-1174, 2025.
- Shin JW, Plikus MV, “Ready, set, but no go: Skin fat comes preloaded with waiting precursors” (opens in new tab), Cell Stem Cell, vol. 32, pp. 1315-1317, 2025.
- Plikus MV, “Ancient skin sported intricately patterned scales” (opens in new tab), Nature, vol. 627, pp. 274-276, 2024.
- Ramos R, Swedlund B, Ganesan AK, Morsut L, Maini PK, Monuki ES, Lander AD, Chuong CM, Plikus MV, “Parsing Patterns: Emerging Roles of Tissue Self-organization in Health and Disease” (opens in new tab), Cell, vol. 187, pp. 3165-3186, 2024.
- Almet AA, Liu Y, Nie Q, Plikus MV, “Integrated single-cell analysis reveals spatially and temporally dynamic heterogeneity in fibroblast states during wound healing” (opens in new tab), Journal of Investigative Dermatology, vol. 145, pp. 645-659.e25, 2024.
- Liu Y, Andersen B, Gudjonsson JE, Plikus MV, “Ancestral diversity of skin reaches single-cell resolution” (opens in new tab), Journal of Investigative Dermatology, vol. 145, pp. 469-472, 2024.
- Ramos R, Plotnikov V, Cheprasov MY, Plikus MV, “Secure ancient animal remains from permafrost” (opens in new tab), Journal of Bio X Research, vol. 386, no. 6721, pp. 501, 2024.
- Jin S, Plikus MV, Nie Q, “CellChat for systematic analysis of cell-cell communication from single-cell transcriptomics” (opens in new tab), Nature Protocols, vol. 20, pp. 180-219, 2024.
- Liu Y, Plikus MV, “Mapping human skin: one sequenced cell at a time” (opens in new tab), Journal of Investigative Dermatology, vol. 143, pp. 2093-2096, 2023.
- Wang X, Ramos R, Phan AQ, Yamaga K, Flesher JL, Jiang S, Oh JW, Jin S, Jahid S, Kuan C-H, Nguyen TK, Liang HY, Shettigar NU, Hou R, Tran KH, Nguyen A, Vu KN, Phung JL, Ingal JP, Levitt KM, et al., “Signalling by senescent melanocytes hyperactivates hair growth” (opens in new tab), Nature, vol. 618, pp. 808-817, 2023.
- Wang X, Plikus MV, “Aged skin cells nurture stem cells toward regeneration” (opens in new tab), Journal of Investigative Dermatology, vol. 143, no. 11, pp. 2093-2096, 2023.
- Hou R, Kim JE, Plikus MV, “Keratinocytes cut corners on the cell cycle for the sake of skin barrier integrity” (opens in new tab), Developmental Cell, vol. 57, pp. P1437-1438, 2022.
- Liu Y, Guerrero-Juarez CF, Xiao F, Shettigar NU, Ramos R, Kuan CH, Lin YC, Lomeli LdJM, Park JM, Oh JW, Liu R, Lin SJ, Tartaglia M, Yang RB, Yu Z, Nie Q, Li J, Plikus MV, “Hedgehog signaling reprograms hair follicle niche fibroblasts to a hyper-activated state” (opens in new tab), Developmental Cell, vol. 57, pp. 1758-1775.e7, 2022.
- Sun P, Han Y, Plikus MV, Dai X, “Altered epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity as a result of Ovol2 deletion minimally impacts the self-renewal of Adult mammary basal epithelial cells” (opens in new tab), Journal of Mammary Gland Biology and Neoplasia, vol. s10911-021-09508-0, pp. 377-386, 2022.
- Atwood SX, Plikus MV, “Fostering a healthy culture: Biological relevance of in vitro and ex vivo skin models” (opens in new tab), Experimental Dermatology, vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 298-303, 2021.
Most Cited Publications
- Plikus MV, Wang X, Sinha S, Forte E, Thompson SM, Herzog EL, Driskell RR, Rosenthal N, Biernaskie J, Horsley V, “Fibroblasts: origins, definitions, and functions in health and disease” (opens in new tab), Cell, vol. 184, pp. 3852-3872, 2021.
- Plikus MV, Mayer J, de la Cruz D, Baker R, Maini P, Maxson R, Chuong C, “Cyclic dermal BMP signalling regulates stem cell activation during hair regeneration” (opens in new tab), Nature, vol. 451, pp. 340-344, 2008.
- Plikus MV, Guerrero-Juarez CF, Ito M, Li YR, Dedhia PH, Zheng Y, Shao M, Gay DL, Ramos R, Hsi TC, Oh JW, Wang X, Ramirez A, Konopelski SE, Elzein A, Wang A, Supapannachart RJ, Lee HL, Lim CH, Nace A, et al., “Regeneration of fat cells from myofibroblasts during wound healing” (opens in new tab), Science, vol. 355, pp. 748-752, 2017.
- Zwick RK, Guerrero-Juarez CF, Horsley V, Plikus MV, “Anatomical, physiological, and functional diversity of adipose tissue” (opens in new tab), Cell Metabolism, vol. 27, pp. 68–83, 2018.
- Guerrero-Juarez CF, Dedhia PH, Jin S, Ruiz-Vega R, Ma D, Liu Y, Yamaga K, Shestova O, Gay DL, Yang Z, Kessenbrock K, Nie Q, Pear WS, Cotsarelis G, Plikus MV, “Single-cell analysis reveals fibroblast heterogeneity and myeloid-derived adipocyte progenitors in murine skin wounds” (opens in new tab), Nature Communications, vol. 10, pp. 650, 2019.
- Oh JW, Kloepper J, Langan EA, Kim Y, Yeo J, Kim MJ, His TC, Rose C, Yoon GS, Lee SJ, Seykora J, Kim JC, Sung YK, Kim M, Paus R, Plikus MV, “A guide to studying human hair follicle cycling in vivo” (opens in new tab), Journal of Investigative Dermatology, vol. 136, pp. 34-44, 2015.
- Plikus MV, Gay DL, Treffeisen E, Wang A, Supapannachart RJ, Cotsarelis G, “Epithelial Stem Cells and Implications for Wound Repair” (opens in new tab), Seminars in Developmental and Cell Biology, vol. 23, pp. 946-953, 2012.
- Plikus MV, Baker R, Chen C, Fare C, de la Cruz D, Andl T, Maini P, Millar S, Widelitz R, Chuong C, “Self-organizing and stochastic behaviors during the regeneration of hair stem cells” (opens in new tab), Science, vol. 332, pp. 586-589, 2011.
- Plikus MV, Zeichner-David M, Mayer JA, Reyna J, Bringas P, Thewissen JG, Snead ML, Chai Y, Chuong CM, “Morphoregulation of teeth: modulating the number, size, shape and differentiation by tuning Bmp activity” (opens in new tab), Evolution and Development, vol. 7, pp. 440-457, 2005.
- Plikus MV, Van Spyk EN, Pham K, Geyfman M, Kumar V, Takahashi JS, Andersen B, “The circadian clock in skin: implications for adult stem cells, tissue regeneration, cancer, aging, and immunity” (opens in new tab), Journal of Biological Rhythms, vol. 30, pp. 163-182, 2015.
Contact Information
Website: https://devcell.bio.uci.edu/faculty/maksim-plikus
Email: plikus@uci.edu
Phone: (949) 824-1260, (949) 824-4716
Address: 1200 Gross Hall, Irvine, CA 92697-2300
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Last updated on 3/31/2026.