Mark B. Meyer

Mark B. Meyer is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is also a member of the UW Carbone Cancer Center in the Cancer Genetics & Epigenetic Mechanisms program. Dr. Meyer mentors students across multiple programs including Endocrinology and Reproductive Physiology (ERP), Molecular and Environmental Toxicology (MET), Genetics (GEN), Cellular and Molecular Biology (CMB), Metabolism and Nutrition Training Program (MANTP), and the Biotechnology Training Program (BTP).

Dr. Meyer received his B.S. in Chemistry from Butler University in 2002 and his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2007, followed by a postdoctoral position at the same institution.

Dr. Meyer's research focuses on the dynamic chromatin environment responsible for serum calcium and phosphate maintenance and the impacts of vitamin D metabolism in skeletal, renal, and intestinal biology. His work examines how endocrine hormones like parathyroid hormone (PTH), fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23), and calcitriol maintain mineral balance through genomic changes. His lab investigates how dysfunction in these mechanisms contributes to chronic kidney disease-metabolic bone disorder (CKD-MBD), atherosclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and cancer. Dr. Meyer's research particularly explores the epigenetic programming effects of vitamin D deficiency, including how maternal vitamin D deficiency in mice imprints epigenetic changes leading to insulin resistance and diabetes in offspring.

His laboratory employs unique animal models, genomic editing techniques, and -omics bioinformatic approaches to generate unbiased interrogation of chromatin changes. Recent publications highlight work on vitamin D receptor actions, renal vitamin D metabolism, and the genomic consequences of mineralotropic hormone signaling, revealing intricate regulatory networks involving CREB modules, salt-inducible kinases, and vitamin D response elements that coordinate renal Cyp27b1 and Cyp24a1 expression.

Dr. Meyer has received recognition for his contributions to vitamin D research, as evidenced by his numerous publications in high-impact journals and participation in major scientific workshops including the 24th workshop on vitamin D in Austin.

His research program is supported by multiple NIH-funded training programs, reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of his work at the intersection of nutrition, genomics, and metabolic disease, with particular emphasis on understanding how dietary and nutritional supplementation of vitamin D affects inflammatory disease progression and cancer outcomes.