Research Areas

In the laboratory, we are deeply passionate about many different aspects of how host myeloid cells respond to and are shaped by inflammation. While our major focus is in pancreatic and lung cancer, we are extremely interested in defining shared myeloid cell biology across disease contexts (e.g.– sepsis, fibrosis, acute radiation damage).

• Plasticity of epigenetic changes in myeloid progenitors during tumor-associated myelopoiesis.

• Metabolic consequences on Proteostasis in myeloid progenitors due to tumor inflammation.

• Fate transitions/rewiring in myeloid progenitors distal to cancer inflammation.

• Role of oxidative stress regulators in driving reactive myelopoiesis after therapy.

Impact of acute damage (e.g.- radiation) vs. chronic genotoxicity (e.g.- long-term chemoradiation) on bone marrow stem cell fidelity and niche biology.

• How reactive myelopoiesis post-therapies can impact metastatic dissemination and/or dormancy exit.

• How age-related dysfunction alters monocytic replacement of tissue niches and contributes to pre-metastatic niches.

We are constantly evolving in our thinking about myeloid immunity, and our project directions reflect that. Get in touch if you want to learn more or participate/collaborate!

Highlighted

Myeloid progenitor dysregulation fuels immunosuppressive macrophages in tumours

Samarth Hegde, Bruno Giotti, Brian Y. Soong, Laszlo Halasz, Jessica Le Berichel, …, Alexander M. Tsankov, Thomas U. Marron, Sai Ma, Brian D. Brown, Miriam Merad

Nature  ·  10 Sep 2025  ·  doi:10.1038/s41586-025-09493-y

epigenetics lung-cancer bone-marrow

Please visit the Research page for more details on publications