Cancer Metabolism and Growth Research Program

Program Leaders: Eileen White, PhD and Wei-Xing Zong, PhD

Overall Goals:

To determine how oncogenic alterations regulate tumor cell metabolism, growth, proliferation, survival, and tumor-host interaction to facilitate disease progression. The ultimate aim is to identify new approaches to improve cancer treatment through innovative biochemical, molecular and biological research. In vivo approaches to address metabolic, physical and immunologic functions in cancer are a nexus of research within the Program. Development and application of state-of-the-art measurement of cancer metabolism is a signature Program feature that spans the Rutgers/Princeton consortium. The Program provides the platform for productive, collaborative, and impactful science, and interfaces with the Cancer Center for the translation of that science, both bench to bedside and bedside to bench.

Specific Aims:

To delineate the role of tumor cell autonomous metabolism in the control of tumor cell growth, proliferation and survival, and to modulate metabolic pathways to improve cancer therapy.
To define the basic mechanisms of nutrient scavenging and how they promote tumor cell growth, proliferation, survival and stress adaptation, and to inhibit them to promote tumor cell death.
To identify the non-tumor cell autonomous metabolic, physical and immunologic relationship between the tumor and host to identify new approaches to cancer therapy.