Mark Polizzotto

Professor Mark Polizzotto is Professor of Medicine in the College of Science and Medicine at the Australian National University (ANU), Group Leader in Cancer and Genome Science at the John Curtin School of Medical Research, and leads the Clinical Hub for Interventional Research (CHOIR). Previously, he served as a Senior Staff Haematologist at The Canberra Region Cancer Centre, Canberra Hospital.

His research interests focus on the intersection of immunity, infection and cancer, with particular emphasis on developing new therapies to prevent and treat malignancy, especially infection-related cancers. His work spans Cancer Immunotherapy, Cancer Target Therapies, Infectious Disease Immunotherapy, HIV/HIV-related malignancies, and Global Oncology, with specific expertise in Human Herpesvirus-8, Epstein Barr Virus, and Human Papillomavirus. His clinical specialties include Haematology, Infectious Diseases, and Tumour Immunology.

His recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on clonal hematopoiesis in HIV patients, lymphoma outcomes in immunocompromised individuals, and therapeutic approaches for viral infections including SARS-CoV-2. His work frequently addresses the intersection of chronic viral infections and cancer development, with particular attention to global health applications.

• The Tony Ayers Award (2022)

Professor Polizzotto has led multiple international clinical trials, including work on viral and HIV-associated cancers that has influenced global guidelines. He co-led the development of an oral immunomodulator for Kaposi sarcoma which led to the first new drug approval for KS in over 20 years. During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, he led international randomized trials of immunotherapies for COVID-19 at the invitation of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. He has a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion in clinical trials and to clinical research capacity development in resource-limited settings, having led trial capacity building efforts in West Africa and Indonesia for the U.S. National Institutes of Health.