Mary E. Ziegler
Assistant Project Scientist, Center for Tissue Engineering, Department of Plastic Surgery, University of California, Irvine
Biography
Mary E. Ziegler, Ph.D., is an Assistant Project Scientist in the Center for Tissue Engineering, Department of Plastic Surgery at the University of California, Irvine. Her research focuses on regenerative medicine and tissue engineering, particularly harnessing the regenerative potential of adipose-derived stem cells to combat fibrosis, enhance angiogenesis, improve fat grafting, and generate cartilage in vitro. She received her Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Pathology from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2011.
Ziegler has received multiple research grants as principal investigator and co-investigator, including an Aesthetic Surgery Education and Research Foundation Research Grant (2025-2026), an MTF Biologics Junior Investigator Award (2025-2026), and a Plastic Surgery Foundation Combined Pilot Research Grant (2024-2025). During her graduate and postdoctoral training, she was awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (2007-2010) and a T32 NIH/NCI Institutional Training Grant Fellowship (2013-2015). Her work has been recognized with the Best Paper Presentation at the International Federation for Adipose Therapeutics and Science Meeting in 2019.
Ziegler has authored over 35 peer-reviewed publications and three book chapters spanning multiple areas including vascular biology, transplantation immunology, and tissue engineering. Her research has appeared in journals such as Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Angiogenesis, and the Journal of Hand Surgery. She has extensive experience mentoring trainees, having supervised over 45 undergraduate students and 13 research fellows in the Center for Tissue Engineering. She currently serves as a grant reviewer for the Plastic Surgery Foundation and as a manuscript reviewer for multiple journals.
Return to topEducation
- Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Pathology, The University of California, Los Angeles, 2011
- B.A. in Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology, The University of Colorado at Boulder, 2000
Distinctions
- National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Award, 2007-2010
- Best Paper Presentation at the International Federation for Adipose Therapeutics and Science Meeting, 2019
- Top 200 (Tier 1) abstracts at Plastic Surgery the Meeting, 2019
- American Transplant Congress Young Investigator Award, 2010
- American Society of Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics Scholar Award, 2009
- Dean's Award for Postdoctoral Research Excellence, 2014
- Certificate of Distinction in Teaching UCLA Life Sciences Division, 2007-2008
Areas of Expertise
- Regenerative Medicine
- Transplantation Immunology
- Psychiatric Genomics
- Three-Dimensional Angiogenesis Models
- Adipose-Derived Stem Cells
- Myofibroblast Transdifferentiation
- Auricular Cartilage Engineering
Recent Publications
- Widgerow A.D., Ziegler M.E., Shafiq F., “Menopause and Dermal White Adipose Tissue Depletion: Mechanistic Links, Adipogenesis, and Regenerative Therapeutic Replacement” (opens in new tab), Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, vol. 25, 2026.
- Rosenbloom AJ, Gasbeck TP, Mamoun LS, Ziegler M, Widgerow AD, “Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists: Friend or Foe of Aesthetic Medicine?”, Aesthet Surg J Open Forum, vol. 7, pp. ojaf022, 2025.
- Ziegler ME, Lem M, Melkonian J, Nasrollahi T, Rahimian H, Shams A, Prabhakar N, Saifzadeh SS, Fritz A, Leis A, Widgerow A, “Transforming Myofibroblasts Into Lipid-Filled Cells to Treat Dupuytren Disease” (opens in new tab), Journal of Hand Surgery, vol. 51, pp. S0363-5023(25)00132-7, 2025.
- Widgerow A.D., Dayan N., Ziegler M.E., Shafiq F., “Adipogenic Effect of Magnolol in Primary Human Pre-Adipocytes With Potential Skin Health and Volumizing Effect” (opens in new tab), Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, vol. 24, 2025.
- Widgerow A.D., Ziegler M.E., Shafiq F., “TriHex 2.0—Advancing Skin Health Science and the TriHex Technology” (opens in new tab), Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, vol. 24, 2025.
- Ziegler ME, Alaniz L, Khan N, Lem M, Pham J, Sherafat A, Melkonian J, Prabhakar N, Shay M, Oyur KB, Pfaff MJ, Widgerow AD, “Identification of a Regenerative Protocol for Recellularizing Human Auricular Cartilage Scaffolds” (opens in new tab), Annals of Plastic Surgery, vol. 93, no. 5, pp. 631-636, 2024.
- Waibel J., Ziegler M., Nguyen T.Q., Le J.H.T.D., Qureshi A., Widgerow A., Meckfessel M., “Comparative Bulk RNA-Seq Analysis of Poly-L-Lactic Acid Versus Calcium Hydroxylapatite Reveals a Novel, Adipocyte-Mediated Regenerative Mechanism of Action Unique to PLLA” (opens in new tab), Dermatologic Surgery, vol. 50, pp. S166-S171, 2024.
- Widgerow A.D., Ziegler M.E., Shafiq F., “A Re-Examination of a Previous Study Relating to Topical Body Formulations: Validating Gene Expression Transcription at Multiple Time Points, and Protein Expression and Translation in an Ex Vivo Model” (opens in new tab), Cosmetics, vol. 11, 2024.
- Widgerow A.D., Ziegler M., Garruto J.A., Ionescu L., Shafiq F., Meckfessel M., Lain E., Ablon G., Harper J., Chang A.L., Howard-Verovic C., “Novel Strategy for Strengthening Dermatoporotic Skin by Managing Cellular Senescence” (opens in new tab), Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, vol. 23, pp. 748-756, 2024.
- Widgerow A.D., Ziegler M.E., “Vitamin C, lactoferrin and elastin—Advancing the science” (opens in new tab), Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, vol. 23, pp. 964-969, 2024.
- Ziegler ME, Sorensen AM, Banyard DA, Sayadi LR, Chnari E, Hatch MM, Tassey J, Mirzakhanyan Y, Gershon PD, Hughes CCW, Evans GRD, Widgerow AD, “Deconstructing Allograft Adipose and Fascia Matrix: Fascia Matrix Improves Angiogenesis, Volume Retention, and Adipogenesis in a Rodent Model” (opens in new tab), Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, vol. 151, no. 1, pp. 108-117, 2023.
- Ziegler ME, Khabaz K, Khoshab N, Halaseh FF, Chnari E, Chen S, Baldi P, Evans GRD, Widgerow AD, “Combining Allograft Adipose and Fascia Matrix as an Off-the-Shelf Scaffold for Adipose Tissue Engineering Stimulates Angiogenic Responses and Activates a Proregenerative Macrophage Profile in a Rodent Model” (opens in new tab), Annals of Plastic Surgery, vol. 91, no. 2, pp. 294-300, 2023.
- Ziegler ME, Staben A, Lem M, Pham J, Alaniz L, Halaseh FF, Obagi S, Leis A, Widgerow AD, “Targeting Myofibroblasts as a Treatment Modality for Dupuytren Disease” (opens in new tab), Journal of Hand Surgery, vol. 48, no. 9, pp. 914-922, 2023.
- Widgerow A.D., Ziegler M.E., Garruto J.A., Shafiq F., “Antioxidants with proven efficacy and elastin-conserving vitamin C—A new approach to free radical defense” (opens in new tab), Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, vol. 22, pp. 3320-3328, 2023.
- Widgerow A.D., Ziegler M.E., Garruto J.A., Bell M., “Effects of a Topical Anti-aging Formulation on Skin Aging Biomarkers”, Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology, vol. 15, pp. E53-E60, 2022.
- Ziegler ME, Sorensen AM, Banyard DA, Evans GRD, Widgerow AD, “Improving In Vitro Cartilage Generation by Co-Culturing Adipose-Derived Stem Cells and Chondrocytes on an Allograft Adipose Matrix Framework” (opens in new tab), Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, vol. 147, no. 1, pp. 87-99, 2021.
Most Cited Publications
- Atz ME, Rollins B, Vawter MP, “NCAM1 association study of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia: polymorphisms and alternatively spliced isoforms lead to similarities and differences” (opens in new tab), Psychiatric Genetics, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 55-67, 2007.
- Jin YP, Valenzuela NM, Ziegler ME, Rozengurt E, Reed EF, “Everolimus inhibits anti-HLA I antibody-mediated endothelial cell signaling, migration and proliferation more potently than sirolimus” (opens in new tab), American Journal of Transplantation, vol. 14, no. 4, pp. 806-19, 2014.
- Tomita H, Ziegler ME, Kim HB, Evans SJ, Choudary PV, Li JZ, Meng F, Dai M, Myers RM, Neal CR, Speed TP, Barchas JD, Schatzberg AF, Watson SJ, Akil H, Jones EG, Bunney WE, Vawter MP, “G protein-linked signaling pathways in bipolar and major depressive disorders” (opens in new tab), Frontiers in Genetics, vol. 4, pp. 297, 2013.
- Ziegler ME, Hatch MM, Wu N, Muawad SA, Hughes CC, “mTORC2 mediates CXCL12-induced angiogenesis” (opens in new tab), Angiogenesis, vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 359-71, 2016.
- Borovikova AA, Ziegler ME, Banyard DA, Wirth GA, Paydar KZ, Evans GRD, Widgerow AD, “Adipose-Derived Tissue in the Treatment of Dermal Fibrosis: Antifibrotic Effects of Adipose-Derived Stem Cells” (opens in new tab), Annals of Plastic Surgery, vol. 80, no. 3, pp. 297-307, 2018.
- Popson SA, Ziegler ME, Chen X, Holderfield MT, Shaaban CI, Fong AH, Welch-Reardon KM, Papkoff J, Hughes CC, “Interferon-induced transmembrane protein 1 regulates endothelial lumen formation during angiogenesis” (opens in new tab), Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, vol. 34, no. 5, pp. 1011-9, 2014.
- Ziegler ME, Souda P, Jin YP, Whitelegge JP, Reed EF, “Characterization of the endothelial cell cytoskeleton following HLA class I ligation” (opens in new tab), PLoS One, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. e29472, 2012.
- Ziegler ME, Jin YP, Young SH, Rozengurt E, Reed EF, “HLA class I-mediated stress fiber formation requires ERK1/2 activation in the absence of an increase in intracellular Ca2+ in human aortic endothelial cells” (opens in new tab), American Journal of Physiology Cell Physiology, vol. 303, no. 8, pp. C872-82, 2012.
- Ziegler ME, Chen T, LeBlanc JF, Wei X, Gjertson DW, Li KC, Khalighi MA, Lassman CR, Veale JL, Gritsch HA, Reed EF, “Apolipoprotein A1 and C-terminal fragment of α-1 antichymotrypsin are candidate plasma biomarkers associated with acute renal allograft rejection” (opens in new tab), Transplantation, vol. 92, no. 4, pp. 388-95, 2011.
- Widgerow A.D., Ziegler M.E., Garruto J.A., Mraz Robinson D., Palm M.D., Vega J.H., Bell M., “Designing topical hyaluronic acid technology—Size does matter…” (opens in new tab), Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, vol. 21, pp. 2865-2870, 2022.
Contact Information
Email: zieglerm@uci.edu
Phone: (714) 456-5253
Address: 101 S. City Dr. Bldg 55
Return to topThis profile was created with the help of AI.
Last updated on 5/19/2026.