Robert Pijewski

VISITING PROFESSOR
Biology and Chemistry School of Health and Natural Sciences
Rob Pijewski
978.665.3618 Office: Antonucci Science Complex 228
Office Hours
Fall 2026

Monday 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Wednesday 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Thursday 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Courses Taught

To see course descriptions go to the University Catalog.

Intro to Life Science (BIOL 1000)
Anatomy and Physiology I Lecture and Lab (BIOL 1200)
Anatomy and Physiology II Lecture and Lab (BIOL 1300)

Background

  • Ph.D. University of Connecticut (Biomedical Science - Neuroscience)
  • B.S. Fitchburg State University (Biology - minor in music)
  • B.S. Fitchburg State University (Psychological Science)
  • Understanding the effects of environmental toxicants on nervous system development
  • Exploring factors that mediate cellular aging
  • Investigating factors that mediate myelination in disease states
  • Developing inclusive and engaging pedagogy 
  • Creating scientific case studies in the realm of cellular biology and neuroscience
  1.  Lombardo, E.R., Pijewski, R.S., Lustig, J.T., Dhari, Z., Lahiri, A., Papile, L.E., Lavoie, E.R., Scanlon, V.M., Bartley, J.M., & Crocker, S.J. (2026). Senolytic treatment induces oligodendrocyte dysfunction and demyelination in the corpus callosum. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 123 (12) e2524897123. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2524897123.  
  2. Altunay, Z. M., Biswas, J., Cheung, H. W., Pijewski, R. S., Papile, L. E., Akinlaja, Y. O., Tang, A., Kresic, L. C., Schouw, A. D., Ugrak, M. V., Caro, K., Peña Palomino, P. A., Ressl, S., Nishiyama, A., Crocker, S. J., & Martinelli, D. C. (2024). C1ql1 expression in oligodendrocyte progenitor cells promotes oligodendrocyte differentiation. The FEBS journal, 10.1111/febs.17256. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/febs.17256
  3. Cheung, H.W., Schouw, A.D., Altunay, Z.M., Maddox, J.W., Kresic, L.C., McAllister, B.C., Caro, K., Alam, S., Huang, A., Pijewski, R.S., Lee, A. and Martinelli, D.C. (2024), Creation of a novel CRISPR-generated allele to express HA epitope-tagged C1QL1 and improved methods for its detection at synapses. FEBS Lett. https://doi.org/10.1002/1873-3468.14946
  4. Pijewski, R. S., Sutter, P. A., Duszak, V. A., Singh, N., Yan, R., Smith, P. P., & Crocker, S. J. (2022). Distinct profiles of cellular senescence-associated gene expression in the aged, diseased or injured central nervous system. Neuroscience letters, 772, 136480. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neulet.2022.136480
  5. Sutter, P. A., McKenna, M. G., Imitola, J., Pijewski, R. S., & Crocker, S. J. (2022). Therapeutic opportunities for targeting cellular senescence in progressive multiple sclerosis. Current opinion in Pharmacology, 63, 102184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coph.2022.102184
  6. Reiter, C. R., Rebiai, R., Kwak, A., Marshall, J., Wozniak, D., Scesa, G., Nguyen, D., Rue, E., Pathmasiri, C., Pijewski, R., van Breemen, R., Cologna, S., Crocker, S. J., Givogri, M. I., & Bongarzone, E. R. (2022). The Pathogenic Sphingolipid Psychosine is Secreted in Extracellular Vesicles in the Brain of a Mouse Model of Krabbe Disease. ASN Neuro, 14, 17590914221087817. https://doi.org/10.1177/1759091422108781
  7. Biswas, J., Pijewski, R. S., Makol, R., Miramontes, T. G., Thompson, B. L., Kresic, L. C., Burghard, A. L., Oliver, D. L., & Martinelli, D. C. (2021). C1ql1 is expressed in adult outer hair cells of the cochlea in a tonotopic gradient. PloS one, 16(5), e0251412. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0251412