Mariana Kaplan, M.D., is Senior Investigator and Chief of the Systemic Autoimmunity Branch as well as Deputy Scientific Director at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIH).

Dr. Kaplan has published over 220 manuscripts and has served in numerous roles at the American College of Rheumatology/Rheumatology Research Foundation, the American Association of Immunologists, and the Lupus Foundation of America. Dr. Kaplan was inducted into the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians (AAP) in addition to receiving the Henry Kunkel Young Investigator Award and the Edmund L. Dubois Memorial Lectureship, both from the American College of Rheumatology. She received the 2015 Evelyn V. Hess Award from the Lupus Foundation of America in recognition of her significant contributions to lupus research, diagnosis, and treatment. In 2016, she received the Charles L. Christian Award for significant impact on the understanding of lupus. Dr. Kaplan is on the editorial board of the Journal of Clinical Investigation and deputy editor of Arthritis & Rheumatology. She is currently a council member at the AAP. In 2021, she was elected to the National Academy of Medicine for seminal contributions that have significantly advanced the understanding of the pathogenic role of the innate immune system in systemic autoimmune diseases, atherosclerosis, and immune-mediated vasculopathies.