Overview

Mark C. Siracusa, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Chancellor Scholar at Rutgers New
Jersey Medical School, where he directs a research program focused on innate immunity, type 2
inflammation, and mast cell-mediated disease. Trained in Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at
Johns Hopkins and in mucosal immunology at the University of Pennsylvania, he has made foundational
contributions to macrophage, basophil, and mast cell biology, including pioneering the role of carbonic
anhydrase family members as actionable regulators of inflammation and therapeutic targets. His laboratory
is continuously supported by multiple NIH R01 grants, and his work appears in leading journals such as
Nature Immunology, Immunity, PNAS, and the Journal of Experimental Medicine. Building on these
discoveries, Dr. Siracusa founded NemaGen Discoveries, a Rutgers-based biotechnology company that
has licensed his carbonic anhydrase-targeting IP, secured major commercialization and NIH SBIR funding,
and advanced lead drug candidates for mast cell-driven disorders, including systemic mastocytosis. He is
committed to translating cutting-edge immunology into first-in-class therapies for patients with high unmet
need while continuing to mentor the next generation of scientists and clinicians..

POSITIONS
2021-present: Associate Professor, Dept. of Medicine, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
2021-present: Director of the Research Support Core, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
2014-2021: Assistant Professor, Dept. of Medicine, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School

2021-present: Standing member of the NIH Innate Immunity B study section

Education

PHD, 2008, John Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
BS, 2000, Merrimack College, North Andover MA

Curriculum Vitae

View CV

Relevant Publications

Ponessa JJ, Peng J, Schroeter M, Chavan K, Sawhney A, Inclan-Rico JM, Lemenze AD Rivera A, Siracusa MC. Alveolar macrophages inhibit emphysematous pathology via expression of Carbonic anhydrase 4. Cell Reports. 2026 May 26;45(5):117315.

Peng J, Sy CB, Zhao S, Sawhney A, Espinosa V, Schroeter M, Ponessa JJ, Chavan K, Lemenze AD, Rivera A, Rohacs T, Siracusa MC. Carbonic anhydrase 8 regulates basophils activation and interleukin 4 production. Frontiers in Immunology. 2025 Nov (16).

Peng J, Sy CB, Ponessa JJ, Lemenze AD, Hernandez CM, Inclan-Rico JM, Sawhney A, Federman HG, Chavan K, Espinosa V, Kotenko SV, Rivera A, Siracusa MC. Monocytes maintain central nervous system homeostasis following helminth-induced inflammation. PNAS. 2022 Sep 13;119(37). (PMID 36070344)

Doke T, Aldridge DL, Yang Y, Park J, Hernandez CM, Amin A, Balzer MS, Shrestra R, Coppock G, Inclan Rico JM, Han SY, Kim J, Xin S, Piliponsky AM, Angelozzi M, Lefebvre V, Siracusa MC, Hunter CA, Susztak K. Single cell analysis identifies the key role of basophils orchestrating Th17 immunity and kidney fibrosis. Nature Immunology. 2022 Jun;23(6):947-959

Chen F, El-Naccache DW, Ponessa JJ, Lemense A, Espinosa V, Wu W, Lothstein K, Jin L, Antao O, Weinstein JS, Damani-Yokota P. Khanna K, Murray PJ, Rivera A, Siracusa MC*, Gause WC* Lung macrophages mediate helminth resistance through differential activation of recruited monocyte-derived alveolar macrophages and arginine depletion. Cell Reports 2022 Jan 11;38(2):110215.doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.110215. *Co-corresponding authors. 22; 213(9):1663-73. (PMID 27526715)

Chang C, Wang J, Zhao Y, Liu J, Yang X, Yue X, Wang H, Zhou F, Inclan-Rico J, Ponessa J, Xie P, Zhang L, Siracusa MC, Feng Z, and Hu W. Tumor suppressor p53 regulates intestinal type 2 immunity. Nature Communications. 2021 Jun 7;12(1):3371. (PMID 34099671)

Inclan-Rico JM, Ponessa JP, Valero-Pacheco N, Hernandez CM, Sy CB, Lemenze AD, Beaulieu AM and Siracusa MC. Basophils prime group 2 innate lymphoid cells for neuropeptide-mediated inhibition. Nature Immunology. 2020 Oct; 21(10):1181-1193. (PMID 32807942)

Inclan-Rico JM, Hernandez CM, Henry EK, Federman HG, Sy CB, Ponessa JP, Lemenze AD, Joseph N, Soteropoulos P, Beaulieu AM, Yap GS and Siracusa MC. Trichinella Spiralis-Induced Mastocytosis and Erythropoiesis Are Simultaneously Supported by a Bipotent Mast Cell/Erythrocyte Precursor Cell. PLOS Pathog. 2020 May 18;16(5):e1008579. (PMID 32421753)

Shan M, Carrillo J, Yeste A, Gutzeit C, Segura-Garz??n D, Walland AC, Pybus M, Grasset EK, Yeiser JR, Matthews DB, van de Veen W, Comerma L, He B, Boonpiyathad T, Lee H, Blanco J, Osborne LC, Siracusa MC, Akdis M, Artis D, Mehandru S, Sampson HA, Berin MC, Chen K, Cerutti A. Secreted IgD Amplifies Humoral T Helper 2 Cell Responses by Binding Basophils via Galectin-9 and CD44. Immunity. 2018 Oct 16;49(4):709-724.e8. (PMID 30291028)

Henry EK, Sy CB, Inclan-Rico JM, Channy SS, Dwyer DF, Soteropoulos P, Rivera A, Siracusa MC. Carbonic anhydrase enzymes regulate mast cell-mediated inflammation. Journal of Experimental Medicine. 2016 Aug 22; 213(9):1663-73. (PMID 27526715)

Areas Of Interest

Allergic inflammation

Basophils

Hematopoiesis

Inflammation

Mast Cells

Mastocytosis

Mucosal Immunology

Parasitology

Course List

EDUC6100K

Innate Immune Pathways in Type 2 Inflammation and Therapeutic Discovery

- Pathogen-experienced macrophages and lung immunity. Dr. Siracusa's team studies how macrophage
subsets that have previously encountered pathogens shape lung immune responses and provide
heterologous protection against subsequent infections.

-Carbonic anhydrase 4 in M2 macrophages and helminth immunity. This project investigates how
carbonic anhydrase 4 regulates M2 macrophage responses and host protection during helminth infection,
extending the lab's discovery that specific carbonic anhydrase isoforms are critical modulators of type 2
inflammation.

- Ontogeny and function of trained macrophages in type 2 immunity. The third project defines how
trained macrophage populations arise, persist, and control type 2 inflammatory responses across tissues,
with the goal of understanding their roles in both protective immunity and chronic inflammatory disease.