Dr. Pan Ma joined the Department of Medicine in the Cardiovascular Division as an instructor in May 2024. As a researcher, she has made significant contributions to the understanding of myocarditis disease. Her work has been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals and presented at prestigious conferences, earning them recognition as a competitive early career investigator. As an emerging scientist within the cardio-immuno-oncology field, she will translate new scientific advances in immunology to the cardiovascular space and build a bridge between tumor immunology and cardiac immunology.
Dr. Ma’s research interests include tumor therapy-induced myocarditis and other forms of myocarditis with a focus on exploring the immune landscape of immune checkpoint inhibitors associated myocarditis and revealing the pathogenic relevance of inflammatory macrophages and their crosstalk with other immune cells in the heart. Dr. Ma’s long-term goals are to reveal the universal and unique features and mechanisms of cardiac immune-related adverse effects across immunotherapies and to establish collaborations among cardiology, oncology, and immunology. Dr. Ma has been entrusted to mentor undergraduate, Master, and PhD students in Dr. Kory Lavine’s lab, not only providing solutions but also teaching the students how to independently navigate challenges.
In working with undergraduate and graduate students, they understand the significance of imparting fundamental knowledge while also broadening their perspectives with novel technologies and scientific progress. Dr. Ma considers mentoring and teaching as the critical aspects of their careers that they will take seriously. Her aspiration to pursue a career in teaching and mentoring has remained steadfast. Outside of her professional pursuits, Dr. Ma is involved in various professional organizations. She is dedicated to advancing the field of cardiovascular disease and providing support to potential mechanism-based strategies in predicting, preventing or treating immunotherapy induced cardiac adverse effects in clinic.