Peter Miller, MD, PhD

Massachusetts General Hospital

Academic Titles

Assistant Professor, Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Research Program Affiliation

Member, Leukemia

Research Abstract

My laboratory at the MGH Center for Cancer Research is focused on understanding how somatic mutations in hematopoietic stem cells arise and lead to clonal hematopoiesis, myeloid neoplasms (myelodysplastic syndrome, acute myeloid leukemia) and aberrant inflammatory states. Leveraging observations from human genetic data, we couple in vitro and in vivo systems with functional genetic and biochemical approaches to model disease states and more deeply study the biology that drives pathophysiologic states. Specifically we focus our studies to define how somatic mutations confer a fitness advantage to the mutant cells in which they reside and contribute to malignant transformation. The ultimate goal of our translational research is to develop more effective strategies to prevent and treat myeloid cancers. These studies are also designed to understand the basic underpinnings of pathological inflammation in human disease, by dissecting the mechanisms by which clonal hematopoietic mutations influence the inflammatory programs of differentiated immune cells and contribute to adverse “non-hematopoietic” outcomes such as the case with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

I am also a member of the leukemia group in the MGH Cancer Center where I attend on the inpatient leukemia service and work with other clinicians in the group on translational cancer studies.