Nickolas Markham, MD, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Medidine in trhe Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition. Dr. Markham is committed to improving gastrointestinal health as a physician and scientist. In medical school, he was selected for the Canby Robinson Scholarship within the Vanderbilt Medical Scientist Training Program (MD/PhD) in 2005. He received his PhD while working with the Reynolds lab in the Cancer Biology Department. His project opened new insight into molecular signaling via cellular adhesion proteins during development and tumorigenesis. During his graduate training, his publications related to understanding how cell-cell junction proteins contribute to development and disease by altering cytoskeletal and growth factor signaling pathways.
Stemming from these projects, he became interested in C. difficile, because its toxins bind growth factor receptors and interfere with cytoskeletal dynamics. He stayed at VUMC to complete a gastroenterology fellowship and was a Harrison Society Scholar. He was selected for postdoctoral funding through the Division of Gastroenterology T32 training program. During fellowship, he published studies on growth factor signaling and gastrointestinal biology. He has given oral presentations at Digestive Disease Week and the VU Single Cell Biology Symposium. He was awarded a Vanderbilt Digestive Disease Research Center Pilot Project grant to develop a novel technology for studying microbial toxins and their effect on human cells. He was selected to present his investigations on the interaction between the microbiome and colon cancer to the NCI Human Tumor Atlas Network. Dr. Markham continues to pursue gastrointestinal biological research, with a focus is on enhancing our understanding of C. difficile infection and colon cancer.