Grant: Foundation Grant

Cancer cells need specific nutrients and to transform these nutrients using specific biochemical pathways to generate enough energy and building blocks to sustain their growth and rapid division. My research program is centered on understanding how cancer cells adapt their metabolism to favor their proliferation and resistance to therapeutic intervention. More precisely, our team is investigating changes in the expression of specialized genes that modify the metabolic program of cancer cells. These changes in gene expression often result from the aberrant activity of proteins known as transcription factors. The normal function of transcription factors is to respond to cellular needs by modulating gene expression so that the cells have the necessary tools to perform their normal activities during the development and lifespan of the organism. However, cancer cells highjack transcription factors to promote tumour growth and their metastasis to distant organs. The abnormal action of transcription factors in cancer is best-exemplified by a class of proteins known as nuclear receptors, which include the estrogen and androgen receptors that promote the growth of breast and prostate cancer, respectively. In recent years, my research program has been focused on studying the roles played by nuclear receptors and other transcription factors in regulating energy metabolism, notably how cancer cells differentially process nutrients such as amino acids, sugars and lipids to fuel their growth. Our goals are to find differences between the action of transcription factors in normal and cancer cells and to exploit these differences to induce metabolic vulnerabilities in tumours, thus making them more responsive to anti-cancer drugs. The ultimate outcome of this program should be improvement in the treatment and quality of life of cancer patients.