Michael Pacold is a basic scientist and radiation oncologist at NYU Langone Health. His laboratory discovered the mammalian Coenzyme Q10 headgroup synthesis pathway (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34471290/) and improved the outcome of a patient with loss of CoQ10 headgroup synthesis (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40634618/).

He holds dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Biology and Chemistry from Indiana University, Bloomington; a PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Cambridge for research at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, and an MD from the Health Sciences and Technology Program at Harvard Medical School and MIT. He completed an Internship in Internal Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, a Residency in Radiation Oncology in the Harvard Radiation Oncology Program, and a postdoctoral fellowship at the Whitehead Institute and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He is interested in discovering and targeting novel metabolic pathways using chemical biology approaches, with applications in cancer and to pediatric neurodevelopmental disease. His laboratory has received funding from the NIGMS, the American Cancer Society, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, the Harrington Discovery Institute, the Melanoma Research Alliance, the Pershing Square Foundation, and the V Foundation.

He maintains a limited clinical practice in CNS radiation oncology.