Mary A. Markiewicz, PhD

Mary A. Markiewicz, PhD, is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology, Molecular Genetics & Immunology at the University of Kansas Medical Center. She is an accomplished cellular immunologist, with a strong interest in both tumor immunology and type 1 (autoimmune) diabetes research. Dr. Markiewicz received her PhD from work performed in Dr. Tom Gajewski’s laboratory in T cell tumor immunity at the University of Chicago. She then did two postdoctoral fellowships, one with Dr. W. Martin Kast at Loyola University in Chicago and one with Dr. Andrey Shaw at Washington University School of Medicine, supported by an American Cancer Society fellowship. After completing her postdoctoral training, Dr. Markiewicz became a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology and Immunology at Washington University School of Medicine. During this time, propelled by funding from the American Diabetes Association (ADA), she began her studies investigating the role of NKG2D in autoimmune diabetes. She then joined the University of Kansas School of Medicine faculty as an Assistant Professor in 2014. Dr. Markiewicz has been heavily involved in autoimmune diabetes research since, receiving both governmental and private foundation funding for her work in this field. She is a member of ADA grant review panels, a network for pancreatic organ donors with diabetes (nPOD) investigator, and an ad hoc reviewer for multiple NIH study sections. Her main focus for the last 17 years has been in the field of NKG2D biology. In addition to autoimmune diabetes studies, this includes work investigating the role of NKG2D signaling in cancer immunotherapy strategies. Dr. Markiewicz is also involved in funded collaborative work with other University of Kansas Medical Center faculty investigating the immune response to methicillin-resistant S. aureus and novel ways of engineering regulatory T cells. Additionally, she is the Scientific Director of the University of Kansas School of Medicine Flow Cytometry Core and the Flow Cytometry Shared Resource of the University of Kansas NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center.