Mark Agulnik, MD, is a board-certified oncologist at Keck Medicine of USC who specializes in the medical treatment of sarcomas — bone and soft tissue cancers — including gastrointestinal stromal tumors, or GIST. He strives to engage in open, honest and meaningful dialogue with his patients to ensure the best possible medical outcomes.
Dr. Agulnik received his Doctor of Medicine and Master of Surgery from McGill University in Canada. He earned a fellowship in hematology and medical oncology from the University of Illinois Chicago and a fellowship in clinical research from the University of Toronto.
Dr. Agulnik’s research focuses on all phases of clinical trials for patients with bone and soft tissue sarcomas. He is especially interested in utilizing immunotherapy to improve his patients’ outcomes. Dr. Agulnik is also dedicated to researching new chemotherapy drugs and targeted therapies. He believes that incorporating genetic sequencing of tumors and exploring patients’ reported outcomes helps to improve and maintain the quality of life for his patients.
He has co-authored more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, editorials and reviews on subjects such as chemotherapy and targeted therapies in soft tissue sarcomas and bone sarcomas and therapies for GIST. Dr. Agulnik has been invited to lecture on areas of expertise including sarcomas, clinical trials and cutting-edge treatments, and given numerous presentations at the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the Connective Tissue Oncology Society and the European Society for Medical Oncology.
For more than 10 years, Dr. Agulnik has mentored trainees in hematology and oncology. He has served as a valued member of many distinguished organizations such as the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network and is a medical advisory board member of the Sarcoma Foundation of America. He has been honored with multiple recognitions and awards, including the Institute of Medicine of Chicago’s Humanitarian Global Health Award. He is a Castle Connolly Top Doctor.
Dr. Agulnik is passionate about meeting the needs of the global health community and volunteered to provide medical care to patients hospitalized after the Haiti earthquake in 2010. He also has spent time teaching medical students and residents in the International Cancer Corps program in Ethiopia. Dr. Agulnik is a professor of clinical medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.
In his free time, especially on weekends, he enjoys spending time with his family, exploring all that Los Angeles has to offer, such as local hikes and taking the family dog for a walk. While in medical school, Dr. Agulnik discovered long-distance running and regularly runs in marathons.
