Michael R. Sargen, M.D.

Biography

Michael R. Sargen, M.D., joined the Clinical Genetics Branch (CGB) as a clinical fellow in 2018. He received his M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, in 2013, and completed a residency in dermatology at Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, and a fellowship in dermatopathology at Stanford University, Palo Alto, California. Since joining DCEG, Dr. Sargen has served as the lead physician of the Familial Melanoma Study. In addition to his clinical responsibilities, Dr. Sargen leads research projects to characterize the clinical and histologic phenotype of melanoma-prone families, including the first study to report the novel association between germline pathogenic variants of Protection of Telomeres 1 (POT1) gene and melanomas with Spitzoid morphology. Dr. Sargen was promoted to assistant clinical investigator in 2021 and to Lasker Clinical Research Scholar in 2024.

Genetic Epidemiology of Skin Cancer, Postdoctoral Fellowship

Fellowship to investigate the etiology of aggressive skin cancer types using epidemiologic and molecular approaches.

Research Interests

Dr. Sargen’s research combines genomic and epidemiologic methodologies to understand the etiology of cancer. He seeks to:

• Identify genetic and environmental risk factors for skin cancer
• Characterize the clinical and histologic phenotype of melanoma susceptibility syndromes
• Evaluate the effect of whole-body screening and chemoprevention on melanoma thickness and survival for members of melanoma-prone families
• Identify diagnostic, therapeutic, and prognostic biomarkers for melanoma, sebaceous carcinoma, and other skin cancers
• Identify novel inherited gene variants that contribute to the development of atypical spitzoid tumors in children, adolescents, and young adults.