Mark Youngblood, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor, Neurological Surgery
Research Program
- Cancer Epigenetics and Nuclear Dynamics (CEND)
- Translational Research in Malignancy (TRIM)
Cancer-Focused Research
My research group investigates the role of chromatin state and immune microenvironment in shaping brain and skull base tumor biology, and aims to derive novel insights that improve therapeutic approaches for these patients. Our work is primarily focused on meningiomas, glioblastoma, and pituitary tumors, and we combine epigenetic profiling, single-cell and spatial approaches, and freshly resected human tumor tissues to elucidate regulatory programs that govern aggressive clinical behavior and treatment response. In a parallel collaborative effort, we are developing minimally invasive tools for monitoring these tumors, such as microfluidic capture of circulating exosomes. Based on findings in our lab, we evaluate therapies that act directly within the tumor, including immune agonists and local drug delivery systems, with a goal of advancing the most promising agents into early-phase clinical trials. As a neurosurgeon-scientist, I treat the operating room as both a source of uniquely informative human specimens and the setting in which these discoveries are ultimately tested.