Jeffrey L. Browning, PhD

Research Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Biography

My interests focus on understanding how the immune system interacts with stromal elements to form the specialized structures that orchestrate immunological encounters in lymphoid organs. On a different plane, the barriers to effective quantitation of disease are formidable in some autoimmune diseases especially those with considerable unmet need such as lupus and scleroderma. I am interested in bringing new views onto the human immune system to improve clinical studies.

Mesenchymal cell differentiation pathways are intimately interwoven with pathological processes e.g. compromised vascular integrity, aberrant tissue remodeling and fibrosis and tumor-stromal interactions. In lymphoid organs, the lymphotoxin pathway, a TNF family member, is one mechanism by which both innate and adaptive lymphoid cells communicate with their stromal microenvironments. The maintenance of a differentiated follicular dendritic cell network to scaffold the B cell follicle is a well-studied example of this communication. More recently, it is clear that another network, the fibroblastoid reticular cell network, is a differentiated form of mural cells, e.g. pericytes or vascular smooth muscle cells. The precise role of the lymphotoxin pathway in controlling this structure is an area of investigation. As lymph nodes can undergo massive expansion in response to danger following by involution, they form an intriguing model of physiological tissue remodeling. Using this foundation, we have been studying the stromal underpinnings of the perivascular adventitial compartment. this compartment is considered crucial to harbor stem cells, tissue resident leucocytes and sense and initiate repair/remodelling efforts after injury. Human skin has provided an excellent tool to observe these stromal perivascular networks.

Publications

  • Published 10/14/2026

    Vo H, Mehendale AM, Azzam M, Pilvar A, El Adili F, Patel R, Chamis B, Ramasubramanian A, Kissin B, York M, Trojanowski M, Jafarzadeh SR, Browning J, Bhawan J, Roblyer D, Bujor AM. Spatial frequency domain imaging for assessment of skin fibrosis in systemic sclerosis: a prospective cohort study. Lancet Rheumatol. 2026 Oct 14. PMID: 42874627.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 9/1/2026

    El Adili F, Moyo KM, Vo H, Kissin B, Yang J, Dinc MT, Browning J, Pimentel D, Fitzgibbons T, Slavin S, Qin F, Trojanowska M, Bujor AM. Down-Regulated Fli1 in Scleroderma Myeloid Cells Contributes to Cardiac Fibrosis Via a Galectin-3/mTOR Dependent Pathway. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2026 Sep 01. PMID: 42681974.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 7/6/2026

    Chawla HS, Nikitin P, Wu M, Browning JL, Theodore S, Zhang M, Singh M, Aglyamov S, Assassi S, Larin KV. Assessment of skin stiffness in systemic sclerosis using optical coherence elastography: A comparative study with histology and clinical parameters. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng. 2026 Jul 06; PP. PMID: 42406658.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 3/1/2026

    Naouar I, Pangan A, Zuo M, Raza SA, Champagne-Jorgensen K, Patel J, Wang A, Pu A, Ward L, Ahn JSY, Sayeed FN, Zhu J, Pössnecker E, Spring S, Sled JG, Cenni B, Nuesslein-Hildesheim B, Browning JL, Pröbstel AK, Reich DS, Gommerman JL, Ramaglia V. Publisher Correction: Lymphotoxin-dependent elevated meningeal CXCL13:BAFF ratios drive gray matter injury. Nat Immunol. 2026 Mar; 27(3):637. PMID: 41617970.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 1/2/2026

    Naouar I, Pangan A, Zuo M, Raza SA, Champagne-Jorgensen K, Patel J, Wang A, Pu A, Ward L, Ahn JSY, Sayeed FN, Zhu J, Pössnecker E, Spring S, Sled JG, Cenni B, Nuesslein-Hildesheim B, Browning JL, Pröbstel AK, Reich DS, Gommerman JL, Ramaglia V. Lymphotoxin-dependent elevated meningeal CXCL13:BAFF ratios drive gray matter injury. Nat Immunol. 2026 Jan; 27(1):48-60. PMID: 41482555.

    Read at: PubMed

View All 134 Publications:   View Full Profile in BUMC

Other Positions

  • Research Professor, Medicine
    Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
  • Member, Arthritis & Autoimmune Diseases Research Center
    Boston University
  • Graduate Medical Sciences Educator and Mentor (Primary Mentor of Graduate Students)
    Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Graduate Medical Sciences

Websites

Education

  • University of Wisconsin Madison, PhD
  • Michigan State University, BS

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