Alexander G. Marneros, MD, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Dermatology at Harvard Medical School and a principal investigator at the Cutaneous Biology Research Center of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). He received his MD from the University of Cologne, before pursuing a PhD in Cell Biology and a postdoctoral fellowship with Bjorn Olsen at Harvard Medical School, studying mechanisms of angiogenesis and extracellular matrix biology. Subsequently, he completed an academic-track residency in Dermatology at Columbia University/NewYork Presbyterian Hospital, prior to starting his NIH R01-funded laboratory at the Cutaneous Biology Research Center of MGH/Harvard Medical School as an independent investigator. His laboratory has made important contributions to our understanding of how specific molecular programs orchestrate the differentiation of epithelial cells in diverse tissues and identified critical roles of epithelial-mesenchymal interactions for the function of epithelial tissues during development and in the adult. He combines human and mouse genetics approaches to define the molecular pathomechanisms that cause congenital skin defects, such as aplasia cutis. This work uncovered critical roles of KCTD1/KCTD15 complexes in keratinocytes for skin appendage morphogenesis and in neural crest cells for craniofacial development. Moreover, he identified a critical role of an AP-2b/KCTD1 axis for the development of the distal nephron. His laboratory also studies how impaired epithelial cell functions result in tissue inflammation, such as in age-related macular degeneration (AMD). He has established a genetic mouse model for neovascular AMD and demonstrated a critical role of inflammasome activation in infiltrating macrophages for disease progression. This has led to efforts in his laboratory to define key signaling events that regulate macrophage activation and polarization that can be targeted therapeutically with specific drugs to target inflammatory angiogenesis therapeutically. Collectively, his research has uncovered fundamental new principles of epithelial cell differentiation and function across different organ systems with disease-relevant therapeutic implications.