Maria Dorota Czajkowska-Majewska

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Maria Dorota Czajkowska-Majewska
Born(1949-01-30)January 30, 1949
Zgierz, Poland
Alma materUniversity of Łódź
Known forResearch on neurosteroids and neurotransmission in the brain
AwardsPresidential Professor of Medical Sciences in Poland (2007); Marie Skłodowska-Curie Excellence Chair Grant, ERC (2007–2010)
Scientific career
FieldsNeurochemistry; Neurobiology; Neuropharmacology; Biochemistry
InstitutionsCenter for Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw; University of Missouri; Harvard University; NIH; INSERM, Paris; Georgetown University; Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, Warsaw; Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University

Maria Dorota Czajkowska-Majewska (publishes as Maria D. Majewska) is a Polish American neurobiologist and professor of medical sciences. Cited for her work on endogenous neurosteroids, neuropathological mechanisms of brain damage during ischemia and anoxemia, biomedical issues related to alcohol and cocaine abuse, and the effect of the mercury compound thimerosal on brain development disorders. Her team's publications on GABAA receptor modulation by steroid metabolites forty years later served as a theoretical background for the development of brexanolone, the first neurosteroid-based treatment for postpartum depression [1].

Early life and education

Majewska was born in Zgierz, Poland in a family of schoolteachers. She graduated from Stanisław Staszic High School in Zgierz in 1966. In 1971, she received an M.Sc. in Biochemistry and Biophysics cum laude from the University of Łódź. She was awarded her Ph.D. in neurochemistry by the Polish Academy of Sciences in 1979, and her honorary professorship in 2007 [2] [3]

[4] [5]

Academic career

From 1972 to 1979, Majewska was a research scientist at the Center for Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw. She then spent 26 years in the United States at University of Missouri, Harvard University and the National Institutes of Health (NIMH, NIAAA, NIDA). In 1988, she was a visiting scientist at INSERM (Endocrinology Department of professor E.E. Baulieu), Université de Paris-Sud, and collaborated with Georgetown University Medical School. She returned to Poland as a presidential professor in 2007. Between 2007 and 2009, she held the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Excellence Chair in Neurobiology at the Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, Warsaw, leading the FP7 "Neurobiology of Autism: Role of Steroids and Mercury" (ASTER), MEXC-CT-2006-042371, project funded by the European Union [6]. In 2015, she served as visiting professor at Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University, Warsaw [7].

Research contributions

Neurosteroids

Between 1985 and 1987, Czajkowska-Majewska with colleagues at NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health) published the first evidence that pregnenolone sulfate, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and reduced progesterone metabolites modulate the GABAA receptor complex as endogenous ligands.[8] This work established the neurosteroids' functions, with implications for stress, mood, cognition, and seizure regulation. Over 40 years the first paper on this topic was cited in hundreds of review publications, as reported by the database Web of Science, for example in highly popular reviews.[9][10][11][12][13] Building on Majewska's and her group insights on neurosteroids, Sage Therapeutics developed brexanolone[14] (FDA approval in 2019) and zuranolone (in 2023), the first neurosteroid-based treatments for postpartum depression.[15][16][17] Majewska's work was cited in 77 pharmacological patents, among them in 42 Sage patents, for example.[18][19][20]

Clinical translation

According to the bibliometric evaluation tool iCite of the National Institute of Health (NIH), covering 50 of Majewska's publications from the NIH Open Citation Collection (NIH-OCC) [21][22][23] [24], the Average Translation Potential (APT) of 8 of her neurosteroid publications were evaluated by iCite at 75% and were cited in 33 clinical papers [25]. Published in 2025 translation-related medical reviews citing Majewska's papers: [26][27] [28][29].

Thiomersal neurotoxicity and autism

Under her Marie Skłodowska-Curie Excellence Chair (FP7, 2007–2009) program, Majewska led the ASTER project with 17 collaborators (two of them promoted to PhDs) at the Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology to publish 20 papers referred to in the early reports [30] [31][32][33][34][35] [36] Preclinical rat studies showed that neonatal thiomersal exposure triggers lasting behavioral, morphological, and neurochemical changes, including altered GABA, NMDA, and opioid receptor densities and neuronal apoptosis. Clinical investigations revealed that children with autism spectrum disorders exhibit impaired mercury elimination and elevated salivary steroid levels, suggesting potential biomarkers of neurodevelopmental toxicity. By 2025 there were 64 reviews of the Majewska ASTER group's research in the database Google Scholar [37],‬‬ with the most recent [38][39][40]

Science outreach

Majewska has written over 40 popular-science articles for *Polityka*[41] and "Dzis" and two science books in Polish[42]

  • Nowy lepszy? Człowiek (Żak, 2005, Poland, ISBN 83-89501-29-5)
  • Człowiek globalny (PIW, 2009, Poland, ISBN 978-83-06-03188-1

She chaired the Polish American Health Association in Washington, D.C., in 2000- 2001[43]

Bibliometric impact

Bibliometric impact is based on data from the science databases NIH-iCite, Google Scholar, Web of Science, Dimensions, Semantic Scholar, ResearchGate and ScienceDirect (Scopus) [25][37] [44][45][46] [47].

Since 1973, Majewska has authored or coauthored nearly 100 peer-reviewed articles with 70 collaborators [37] in a dozen of monographs and as articles in 39 biomedical journals such as Science, Brain Research, Progress in Neurobiology and others. By the end of 2025 they were cited in 4,900 research papers of 12,000 authors in 90 countries in the areas of neuroscience, pharmacology, endocrinology, psychiatry, among them in 938 review articles, for a total of 10,500 citation (with an average of 120 citations per paper [37]).‬‬ A set of 50 publications by Majewska and her collaborators included in both the NIH biomedical database PubMed ‪[48] and in iCite is placed by iCite in the 96th percentile globally [25]

Selected research publications

(with citations as of the end of 2025):

MD Majewska, NL Harrison, RD Schwartz, JL Barker, SM Paul, "Steroid hormone metabolites are barbiturate-like modulators of the GABA receptor" Science 232 (4753), 1004-1007, 1986. (2717 citations, including 397 citations in reviews[37] ), with a relative impact as evaluated by NIH iCite at 100 percentile[25]).

MD Majewska "Neurosteroids: endogenous bimodal modulators of the GABAA receptor mechanism of action and physiological significance", Progress in neurobiology 38 (4), 379-394, 1992, 1425 citations.

NL Harrison, MD Majewska, JW Harrington, JL Barker "Structure-activity relationships for steroid interaction with the gamma-aminobutyric acidA receptor complex." The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics 241 (1), 268-274, 1987, 782 citations.

MD Majewska, S Demirgoren, CE Spivak, ED London "The neurosteroid dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate is an allosteric antagonist of the GABAA receptor", Brain research 526 (1), 143-146, 1990, 606 citations.

MD Majewska, RD Schwartz "Pregnenolone-sulfate: an endogenous antagonist of the γ-aminobutyric acid receptor complex in brain?", Brain research 404 (1-2), 355-360, 1987, 423 citations.

MD Majewska, JM Mienville, S Vicini "Neurosteroid pregnenolone sulfate antagonizes electrophysiological responses to GABA in neurons", Neuroscience letters 90 (3), 279-284, 1988, 339 citations.

S Demirgören, MD Majewska, CE Spivak, ED London "Receptor binding and electrophysiological effects of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, an antagonist of the GABAA receptor " Neuroscience 45 (1), 127-135, 1991, 267 citations.

MD Majewska "Neuronal actions of dehydroepiandrosterone possible roles in brain development, aging, memory, and affect" Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 774 (1), 111-120, 1995, 240 citations.

MD Majewska, JC Bisserbe, RL Eskay "Glucocorticoids are modulators of GABAA receptors in brain" Brain Research 339 (1), 178-182, 1985, 229 citations.

MD Majewska, JA Bell, ED London "Regulation of the NMDA receptor by redox phenomena: inhibitory role of ascorbate", Brain Research 537 (1-2), 328-332, 1990, 221 citations.

W Ling, S Shoptaw, D Majewska "Baclofen as a cocaine anti-craving medication: a preliminary clinical study" Neuropsychopharmacology 18 (5), 403-404, 1998, 216 citations.

MD Majewska "Steroids and brain activity: essential dialogue between body and mind" Biochemical pharmacology 36 (22), 3781-3788, 1987, 173 citations.

MD Majewska, J Stroznajder, J Łazarewicz "Effect of ischemic anoxia and barbiturate anesthesia on free radical oxidation of mitochondrial phospholipids" Brain research 158 (2), 423-434, 1978, 153 citations.

Book chapters

  • Gromek A., Czajkowska (Majewska) M.D., Czernicki Z., Jurkiewicz J., and Kunicki A.: „Biochemical Disturbances in Experimental Edema". In: Brain Edema, Cerebello Pontine Angle Tumors; Pathophysiology and Therapy/Diagnosis and Surgery. (K Schürmann, M Brock, H.-J. Reulen, D Voth, eds.), Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1973. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-642-65734-4_5
  • GY Sun, W Tang, MD Majewska, DW Hallett, L Foudin, S Huang: "Involvement of phospholipid metabolites in neuronal membrane functions". In Neural membranes, 1983•Springer. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4612-5636-6_3
  • Majewska M.D.: "Steroid Actions on GABAA Receptor: Ligand Binding, Chloride Transport, and Behavior", The Ciba Foundation Symposium, London, John Wiley and Sons, Ltd, Sussex, England, pp. 83-95, 1990. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1963401/, PMID: 1963401 DOI: 10.1002/9780470513989
  • Majewska, M.D. "Neurosteroids: GABA-agonistic and antagonistic modulators of the GABAA receptor", in Fidia Research Foundation Symposium Series, vol 8, "Neurosteroids and Brain Functions", Eds: E. Costa and S.M. Paul, Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc. pp. 109-118, (1991).
  • Majewska, M.D. "Neuronal Actions of Dehydroepiandrosterone: Possible Roles in Brain Development, Aging, Memory and Affect". In: Dehydroepiandrosterone and Aging, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, v.774: 111-120 (1995). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8597451/, PMID: 8597451, DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1995.tb17375.x
  • Majewska, M.D. "Sex Differences in Brain Morphology and Pharmacodynamics", in "Psychopharmacology and Women. Gender, Sex, and Hormones". Rds. M.J. Jensvold, U. Halbreich, J.A. Hamilton, American Psychiatric Press, Washington-London (1996), pp. 73-84. https://www.amazon.com/Psychopharmacology-Women-Sex-Gender-Hormones/dp/0880485450
  • Majewska, M.D. "Neurotoxicity and Neuropathology Associated with Cocaine/ Psychostimulant Abuse", in NIDA Research Monographs, v. 162: 70-72 (1996). 15. PMID: 9066818
  • Majewska, M.D." Cocaine addiction as a neurological disorder: implications for treatment." NIDA Research Monographs, v.163: 1-26 (1996). PMID: 8809851
  • Wilkins J., Van Gorp W., Hinken C., Welch B., Wheatley S., Plotkin D., Moore L., Setoda D., Ashofteh, and Majewska, M.D. "Relapse to Cocaine Use May be Predicted in Early Abstinence by Low Plasma Dehydroepiandrosterone". In "Problems of Drug Dependence 1996: Proceedings of the 58th annual scientific meeting", 1997, NIDA Research Monographs, v. 174. PMID: 9229703.
  • Majewska, M.D., "Neurosteroid Antagonists of the GABA-A receptors". In "Neurosteroids. A New Regulatory Function in the Nervous System" Eds. EE Baulieu, P. Robel and M. Schumacher, The Humana Press, Inc, 1999, pp. 155-166. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-59259-693-5_9.
  • Majewska, M.D. "Dehydroepiandrosterone: Hormone of youth and resilience. Still a maverick". In "DHEA and Brain, Nutrition, Brain, and Behavior" series, Taylor and Francis, London and New York, pp. 65-81, 2002. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/mono/10.1201/b12558-12/dhea-hormone-youth-resilience%E2%80%94still-maverick-robert-morfin?context=ubx&refId=26e749ec-6c43-4d31-9394-394df2085823

References

  1. ↑ Gordon, JD (2019). "From Neurobiology to Novel Medications: A Principled Approach to Translation". American Journal of Psychiatry. 176 (10): 867–868. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2019.19040386.
  2. ↑ https://archiwum.nauka-polska.pl/#/profile/scientist?id=208642&_k=8fpnzk Nauka Polska – Prof. Maria D. Majewska
  3. ↑ https://www.infor.pl/akt-prawny/MPO.2008.001.0000010 Postanowienie Prezydenta RP o nadaniu tytułu profesora
  4. ↑ https://www.prezydent.pl/kancelaria/archiwum/archiwum-lecha-kaczynskiego/aktualnosci/rok-2008/prezydent-rp-wreczyl-nominacje-profesorskie Prezydent RP wręczył nominacje profesorskie
  5. ↑ "Archived IPiN Autism Page". Archived from the original on 2017-10-14. Retrieved 2017-10-14.
  6. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-10-14. Retrieved 2017-10-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ↑ https://uksw.edu.pl/en/
  8. ↑ Barnes, Deborah M. (1986-06-13). "Steroids May Influence Changes in Mood: Some steroids depress nerve cell activity in the brain and others enhance it, possibly contributing to the mood changes associated with steroid fluctuations in disease or stress". Science. 232 (4756): 1344–1345. doi:10.1126/science.3715451.
  9. ↑ Macdonald, RL and Olsen, RW "Gaba(A) receptor channels" 1994 Annual Review of Neuroscience 17, pp.569-602.
  10. ↑ Miller, WL and Auchus, RJ "The Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, and Physiology of Human Steroidogenesis and Its Disorders" Feb 2011 ENDOCRINE REVIEWS 32(1), pp.81-151
  11. ↑ E E Baulieu, P Robel "Neurosteroids: a new brain function? " J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 1990 Nov 20;37(3):395-403. PMID : 2257243, DOI: 10.1016/0960-0760(90)90490-c review
  12. ↑ A L Morrow, L L Devaud, R H Purdy, S M Paul "Neuroactive steroid modulators of the stress response ", Ann N Y Acad Sci . 1995 Dec 29:771:257-72, PMID: 8597405, DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1995.tb44687.x, review.
  13. ↑ D S Reddy "The clinical potentials of endogenous neurosteroids", Review Drugs Today (Barc) 2002 Jul;38(7):465-85. PMID: 12582464 DOI: 10.1358/dot.2002.38.7.820115
  14. ↑ "FDA Briefing Document | Psychopharmacologic Drugs Advisory Committee (PDAC) and Drug Safety and Risk Management (DSaRM) Advisory Committee Meeting" (PDF). www.fda.gov. November 2, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 13, 2019.
  15. ↑ Gordon, Joshua A. (2019-06-01). "From Neurobiology to Novel Medications: A Principled Approach to Translation". American Journal of Psychiatry. 176 (6): 425–427. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2019.19040386.
  16. ↑ "Basic Research Powers the First Medication for Postpartum Depression - National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)". 14 May 2024.
  17. ↑ Deligiannidis, Kristina M.; Meltzer-Brody, Samantha (2025). "Neurosteroid treatment of postpartum depression and beyond". The British Journal of Psychiatry. 226 (6): 340–342. doi:10.1192/bjp.2025.90.
  18. ↑ "Treating major depressive disorder (MDD) and postpartum depression (PPD) with elevated anxiety by administering 19-nor 3C,3-disubstituted 21C-N-pyrazolyl steroid" WO2022232504-A1TW202308654-AAU2022266680-A1...Inventors LASSER R A; DOHERTY J; (...); ADIWIJAYA B B S Assignee SAGE THERAPEUTICS INC
  19. ↑ "Modulation of CNS excitability using new and known steroid(s) by regulating chloride ion channels associated with the GABA-benzodiazepine receptor complex, useful for treating stress, anxiety, insomnia etc." WO9303732-A1AU9224719-AEP554436-A1...Inventors BOLGER M B; GEE K W; (...); UPASANI R B Assignees COCENSYS INC; UNIV SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA; (...); PURDUE PHARMA LTD.
  20. ↑ X Ke et al. Steroid compound, and use thereof and preparation method therefor - US Patent 12,415,830, 2025 - Google Patents.
  21. ↑ https://dpcpsi.nih.gov/sites/default/files/iCite%20fact%20sheet_0.pdf
  22. ↑ https://icite.od.nih.gov/
  23. ↑ "Relative Citation Ratio (RCR)". 5 September 2024. Archived from the original on 6 September 2024. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  24. ↑ "ICite".
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 "ICite".
  26. ↑ Bixo M, et al. « Neurosteroids and premenstrual dysphoric disorder". Br J Psychiatry, 2025. PMID: 40518728, review.
  27. ↑ G Pinna, M Bortolato "The role of neuroactive steroids in psychiatric and neurological disorders: Neurobiology and therapeutic perspectives " - Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 2025 - Elsevier
  28. ↑ C.M. Vacher et al. « Neuroactive steroid exposure impacts neurodevelopment: Comparison of human and rodent placental contribution ", J Neuroendocrinol . 2025 Jul;37(7):e13489. PMID: 39789736, PMCID: PMC12213033 , DOI: 10.1111/jne.13489 review.
  29. ↑ L. Liu et al. « Neuroactive Steroids Hold Promise as Innovative Anesthetics" Drug Dev Res . 2025 Sep;86(6):e70137. PMID: 40801291, DOI: 10.1002/ddr.70137 , review.
  30. ↑ https://ipin.edu.pl/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/spr2007.pdf
  31. ↑ https://ipin.edu.pl/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/IPiN_Sprawozdanie_za_rok_2008_v25Z_.pdf
  32. ↑ https://ipin.edu.pl/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/sprawozdanie-2009.pdf
  33. ↑ https://ipin.edu.pl/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/sprawozdanie-2010.pdf
  34. ↑ https://ipin.edu.pl/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/sprawozdanie-2011.pdf
  35. ↑ https://ipin.edu.pl/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/sprawozdanie-2012.pdf
  36. ↑ https://ipin.edu.pl/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/sprawozdanie-2013.pdf
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 37.2 37.3 37.4 ‪Maria Majewska‬ - ‪Google Scholar‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬
  38. ↑ de Jesus, LAG; Piuvezam, G; (...); de Melo, EB "Corticosteroids and the Pharmacological Management of Autism-An Integrative Review" 2024 SCIENTIA PHARMACEUTICA 92(4)
  39. ↑ Netto, BB; da Silva, EP; (...); Gonçalves, CL "Critical period of exposure to mercury and the diagnostic of autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review" Sep 2024 JOURNAL OF NEUROCHEMISTRY 168(9), pp.2092-2104
  40. ↑ Azevedo, LF; Karpova, N; (...); Carneiro, MFH "Evidence on Neurotoxicity after Intrauterine and Childhood Exposure to Organomercurials" Jan 2023 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 20(2), review.
  41. ↑ https://www.polityka.pl/
  42. ↑ https://katalogi.bn.org.pl/discovery/search?query=creator,contains,Maria%20Dorota%20Majewska&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=NLOP_IZ_NZ&vid=48OMNIS_NLOP:48OMNIS_NLOP&offset=0
  43. ↑ https://pahausa.org/about-us/paha-presidents/
  44. ↑ Maria Dorota Majewska, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology - Dimensions
  45. ↑ "M. D. Majewska | Semantic Scholar".
  46. ↑ https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Maria-Dorota-Majewska-3916677
  47. ↑ https://www.sciencedirect.com/author/7006774936/maria-dorota-majewska
  48. ↑ "Majewska%20M.D. - Search Results - PubMed".

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