Geoffrey J. Markowitz, PhD, is an RBHS Instructor in the Department of Medicine at the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and within the Division of Medical Oncology, Section of Cancer Immunotherapy at the Rutgers Cancer Institute. Dr. Markowitz is a tumor immunologist with more than 15 years of experience studying immune cell function in the tumor microenvironment (TME), and a particular interest in control of T cell differentiation to enhance therapeutic efficacy.
Dr. Markowitz received his doctoral training in Molecular Cancer Biology at Duke University under the supervision of Dr. Xiao-Fan Wang, where his studies focused on the roles of inflammation and the TME in hepatocellular carcinoma, modeling the interactions between liver fibrosis and tumor progression (Markowitz et al, Science Bulletin, 2015) and mechanisms underlying the stage-dependent activity of key regulators in mouse models and patient samples (Markowitz et al, Cancer Research, 2016). Following his graduate work, Dr. Markowitz joined the laboratory of Dr. Vivek Mittal at Weill Cornell Medicine to evaluate the regulation and functionality of anti-tumor immune responses in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). He evaluated efficacy and underlying mechanisms of anti-PD-1 therapy in NSCLC, demonstrating T cell reprogramming (Markowitz et al, JCI Insight, 2018). He subsequently pursued mechanisms underlying CD8+ T cell anti-tumor efficacy and described a novel role for the glycolytic gatekeeper enzyme pyruvate kinase M2 in controlling progenitor-to-effector cell differentiation, with disruption of this axis resulting in metabolic compensation through pentose phosphate pathway activity and enhanced responsiveness to anti-PD-1 in both mouse models and patient samples (Markowitz et al, Nature Immunology, 2024). Research in the Markowitz lab will continue to investigate the mechanisms underlying T cell differentiation through both intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms, with a particular emphasis on the evolving metabolic state and its potential as a therapeutic target.
Dr. Markowitz is a member of the Society for the Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC), the American Association of Immunologists, and the American Association for Cancer Research. He is a recipient of the SITC Presidential Award for young investigators, a member of the SITC Sparkathon (Emerging Leaders Igniting Innovation) class of 2024, and is a member of the SITC Early Career Scientist Committee.