SUMMARY
Aaron R. Mangold, M.D., pursues translational studies in cancer diagnosis, rare inflammatory conditions, molecular disease prognosis and new therapeutics. He has ongoing clinical trials and molecular biomarker identification studies for cutaneous lymphomas, melanomas and cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas.
Additionally, Dr. Mangold conducts rare disease translational trials with deep genomic profiling for:
- Necrobiosis lipoidica.
- Granuloma annulare.
- Lichen planus.
- Bullous pemphigoid.
- Pityriasis rubra pilaris.
- Dermatomyositis.
To streamline, scale and automate his research, he develops and leverages advanced genomic pipelines and machine learning approaches for clinical, histological and molecular diagnostics.
Focus areas
- Molecular pathways in cutaneous malignancies. Dr. Mangold studies the effects of targeted blockade and the diagnostic and prognostic value of new biomarkers. He examines the molecular pathways in the progression of cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas to metastatic disease, as well as the effects of manipulating such pathways.
- INPP5A in cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas. Dr. Mangold demonstrated that INPP5A is lost in carcinogenesis and that its restoration leads to cell death in cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas. Low INPP5A expression is indicative of aggressive behavior including recurrence, metastasis and death.
- Genomic and transcriptomic patterns in cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas. Dr. Mangold studies the genomic and transcriptomic landscape of intermediate- to high-risk cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas that may or may not metastasize. He identified the gene signature of aggressive cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas and derived a molecular panel that predicts its aggressive behavior. He also validated the molecular panel for disease behavior and is researching external validation for a prospective clinical trial.
Machine learning in cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas. Study of the pipeline that integrates clinical, histological and molecular data in the risk stratification of cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas is part of Dr. Mangold's research. He performs multimodal machine learning diagnostic and prognostic work as well as whole-slide image matching.
Dr. Mangold interprets histological slides with machine learning pipelines and predicts poor outcomes with state-of-the-art accuracy. Furthermore, he integrates molecular data and predicts underlying genetic changes from primary tissue. Dr. Mangold has developed interactive software that analyzes tissue using machine learning techniques and provides visual outputs for pathologists. This interactive software improves pathologist performance and decreases the time spent in analyzing samples.
- Multidisciplinary cutaneous lymphoma clinic. Dr. Mangold directs the multidisciplinary cutaneous lymphoma clinic at Mayo Clinic in Arizona. This clinic encompasses the treatment of complicated and advanced disease as well as clinical trials and translational research through the analysis of prospectively collected tissue and blood.
- Sezary syndrome. Dr. Mangold defined the clinical spectrum of Sezary syndrome, allowing for early diagnosis. He defined the clinical and genomic landscape of subcutaneous panniculitis such as T-cell lymphoma.
Autoimmune and autoinflammatory disease. Dr. Mangold identifies and targets inflammatory signaling cascading in autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases. These diseases share signaling pathways similar tho those of cutaneous lymphomas. His current research explores cutaneous diseases, specifically necrobiosis lipoidica, granuloma annulare, lichen planus, bullous pemphigoid, pityriasis rubra pilaris and dermatomyositis.
Dr. Mangold defined the genomic landscape of necrobiosis lipoidica and granuloma annulare in addition to identifying their targetable pathways. He also completed a phase 2, Mayo-led program treating people with necrobiosis lipoidica.
- Lichen planus. Dr. Mangold discovered the primary drivers of lichen planus and performed Mayo Clinic-led clinical trials in the phase 2 setting to target these cells directly. Phase 3 programs are pending.
- Bullous pemphigoid and dermatomyositis. Dr. Mangold participated in and led two phase 3 programs for the first-in-class targeted therapies in bullous pemphigoid and dermatomyositis.
- Pityriasis rubra pilaris. Dr. Mangold identified the primary drivers of pityriasis rubra pilaris and is completing Mayo-led clinical trials targeting these pathways.
Significance to patient care
Dr Mangold uses advanced genomics and multimodal machine learning to find new treatments and repurpose older therapies. He identifies disease-specific and individual biomarkers that predict who will likely respond to specific treatment. These biomarkers reduce the need for trial-and-error treatment, lower healthcare costs and improve patient quality of life. Dr. Mangold uses advanced molecular work and machine learning to diagnose and predict outcomes in cancer. Through this work, he improves overall diagnostic accuracy and increases access to advanced diagnosis in healthcare-disparate areas.
Professional highlights
- Vice chair, Research Operations Management Team, Mayo Clinic in Arizona, 2024-present.
- Associate medical director, Department of Development, Mayo Clinic, 2023-present.
- Medical director, Office of Clinical Trials, Mayo Clinic in Arizona, 2023-present.
- Member, board of directors, United States Cutaneous Lymphoma Consortium, 2023-present.
- President's Discovery Translation Program Award, for "Multimodal Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma Risk Stratification Tool," Mayo Clinic, 2024.
- President, Pacific Dermatology Association, 2022-2023.
- Chair, Division of Clinical Dermatology, Mayo Clinic in Arizona, 2020-2023.
- Chair, community outreach, American Academy of Dermatology, 2019-2023.
- Member, board of directors, Arizona Medical Association, 2019-2022.
- President, Arizona Dermatology and Dermatological Surgery Society, 2015-2020.