Matthew D Park

Dr. Matthew D. Park is a a physician-scientist in immuno-oncology with expertise in myeloid cell biology (myelopoiesis, dendritic cells, macrophages) and immunotherapy for and immunoprevention of cancer and aging. His research has demonstrated key mechanisms for the pro-tumorigenic properties of aging and identified druggable targets for the interception of precancerous lung lesions and the control of pathogenic myelopoiesis during aging.

Under the mentorship of Dr. Miriam Merad, a world-renown pioneer in the study of macrophages and dendritic cells and their roles in inflammation and cancer, Dr. Park led studies on how resident-tissue macrophages shape early oncogenesis and how the development of myeloid cells (myelopoiesis) from bone marrow is co-opted by tumors, other types of inflammatory lesions, and aging to distract our immune system’s ability to preserve homeostasis. One such study, published in Science, established that the pro-tumoral effects of aging are driven by an aging immune system.

The fundamental importance of these findings, in addition to their greater clinical significance in identifying IL-1R1 signaling as a target for lung cancer prevention, was recognized by Forbes magazine’s 30 under 30 List, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and other news media. This study was also central to Mount Sinai’s advance towards the $101 million XPRIZE Healthspan Award, which funds the Health System’s first clinical trial on anti-aging. It and other studies that he led and/or contributed to have motivated several other trials at Mount Sinai that test myeloid cell-targeting therapies for the immunoprevention of cancer. Dr. Park's current research foci expand upon his prior research in two key directions: (i) actively translating our current findings to design therapeutic interventions for intercepting high-risk precancerous lesions, and (2) further advancing our study of immune aging and its consequences, including the dysfunction of resident-tissue macrophages and myelopoiesis (e.g., CHIP, clonal hematopoiesis; obesity; pollutants), to develop new therapies that will rejuvenate our immune system and enhance its role in aging and response to aging-related diseases.