About Charles Parkos, MD, PhD

CHARLES PARKOS, MD, PhD
Professor and Vice Chair, Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Pathology
Director, Gastrointestinal Pathology Division, Emory University Hospital
Director, Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP), Emory University School of Medicine
Director, Digestive Diseases Research Development Center, Emory Univ School of Medicine
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SUMMARY

Dr. Parkos has had a career-long interest in understanding the basic mechanisms of inflammation and the immune response at epithelial barriers. His studies as a graduate student in the laboratories of Algirdas Jesaitis and Charles Cochrane were of the first to define the molecular basis of Chronic Granulomatous Disease, a human condition that results from defects in oxidant-mediated killing by neutrophils (Parkos et al. JCI 1987, Dinauer et al. Nature 1987, Parkos et al. Blood 1989). During his pathology residency and fellowship training at Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School, he extended his research efforts to the study of the biology and molecular basis of interactions between leukocytes (such as neutrophils) and epithelial cells.

Dr. Parkos has a distinguished track record in the fields of leukocyte biology and epithelial-immune cells interactions. For the past 20 years, he has been a major contributor to the understanding of leukocyte transepithelial migration and the effects of such migration on epithelial barrier function as it relates to mucosal inflammation and inflammatory bowel disease. Work from the Parkos laboratory has defined the differences and similarities between the processes of leukocyte migration across vascular endothelium and migration across mucosal epithelial barriers. By applying state of the art molecular and protein approaches to complex cell biological systems, Dr. Parkos and his team have identified a number of epithelial and neutrophil proteins that play critical roles in mucosal inflammation, such as CD11b/CD18, CD47, SIRPalpha, and, most recently, specific members of the junctional adhesion molecule (JAM) family of proteins. Subsequent studies by the group have advanced our understanding of how these protein molecules regulate mucosal inflammation, particularly with the receptor-ligand pair CD47-SIRPalpha and JAM-A.

Over the past several years, the lab has extended their studies to in-vivo and ex-vivo animal models of inflammation that have provided key insights into the relationship between epithelial permeability and pathologic versus homeostatic inflammatory responses. On-going studies in the laboratory are examining the role of JAM family members in the regulation of epithelial barrier and leukocyte migration, characterizing the signaling events that occur between leukocytes and epithelial cells that serve to control leukocyte transmigration and epithelial permeability, and elucidating the structural basis of CD47 binding to the inhibitory receptor Signal Regulatory Protein Alpha (SIRP-alpha) and the effect of this interaction on the immune response.

For additional information on the specific research interests of the Parkos Laboratory, as well as collaborative efforts with the Nusrat and other laboratories, please visit our Research Interests page.

AT A GLANCE

Education
BA, University of California - San Diego (1979)
PhD, University of California - San Diego/Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation (1987)
MD, University of California - San Diego (1987)
Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of California - San Diego (1987)
Pathology Residency, Brigham and Women's Hospital Harvard University (1988-1990)

Professional Positions
Instructor of Pathology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (1990-1992)
Assistant Professor of Pathology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (1992-1997)
Associate Professor of Pathology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA (1997-2003)
Professor of Pathology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA (2003 - current)
Director, Gastrointestinal Pathology Service and Clinical Fellowship, Emory University Hospital (1997-present)
Co-Director, Emory University Medical Scientist Training Program (2001-2006)
Director, Emory University Medical Scientist Training Program (2007-present)
Vice Chair, Department of Pathology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA (2008-present)
Director, Division of Experimental Pathology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA (2008-present)
Director, Digestive Diseases Research Development Center, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA (2011-present)

Funding Sources
P.I., NIH, “Neutrophil interactions with intestinal epithelium,” RO1-DK72564.
P.I., NIH, "Structure function studies on intestinal epithelial JAM" R01-DK61379.
P.I., NIH, "Intestinal Inflammation: Signaling proteins and the rate of PMN transmigration" R01-DK079392.
P.I., NIH, “Pathobiology of mucosal/epithelial disease” T32 DK007771.
P.I., NIH, “Emory Medical Scientist Training Program” T32 GM008169-21.
P.I., NIH, “Emory epithelial pathobiology research development grant.” R24 DK064399.