Matlock Jeffries, MD

Biography

The emphasis of Dr. Jeffries’s research is osteoarthritis (OA), the most common form of arthritis and the most common cause of disability in our country. There are no biomarkers for early diagnosis of OA, nor do we have medications that can slow or stop OA progression. Unlike some other forms of arthritis, relatively few specific genetic associations have been found in OA. It seems that non-genetic, environmental factors play the biggest role in development and progression, including aging, obesity, and previous joint trauma.

Dr. Jeffries’s laboratory is dedicated to evaluating the contributions to OA of non-genetic factors that affect the way that cells both within joints and throughout the body more widely. One focus is epigenetics, meaning literally “above the gene”, are mechanisms that turn genes on and off without affecting the actual genetic code, usually by adding bits of chemical signals to DNA and other DNA-associated factors. He was the first US-based investigator to report genome-wide changes in epigenetic patterns associated with OA cartilage and subchondral bone, and his laboratory is now studying blood-based epigenetic patterns as predictive biomarkers in OA. Dr. Jeffries was also the first to report a cartilage microbiome signature within joints associated with OA, a potentially modifiable risk factor. His research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, the Arthritis National Research Foundation, among others.

Dr. Jeffries received his MD degree and completed his clinical training in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, including serving as a Chief Resident in Internal Medicine in 2013-2014. He has received numerous awards for research and teaching, including being the first Oklahoman to win the prestigious Distinguished Fellow Award from the American College of Rheumatology. He was also recently awarded the Provost’s Junior Faculty Research Award from the University of Oklahoma and the Fred Jones Award for Scientific Achievement from the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation. An active physician/scientist, Dr. Jeffries continues to see patients in a private clinic at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, as well as train medical students, Internal Medicine residents, and Rheumatology Fellows at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center hospitals and the Oklahoma City VA Medical Center.

Email

matlock-jeffries@omrf.org

Publications

Research Interests:

• Osteoarthritis
• Epigenetics
• Microbiome
• DNA Methylation
• Biomarkers
• Machine learning