Despite decades of research, how cell growth and proliferation are coordinated with the metabolism in a cell has remained a critical unresolved question.  Understanding these specific mechanisms would address the long-standing question of how cells assess their metabolic and nutritional state to decide when to proliferate.

Dr. Tu has discovered a key mechanism by which carbon sources, such as glucose, signal cells to grow and divide; these studies were conducted in the model organism, baker’s yeast.   His goal is to investigate these mechanisms in mammalian cells and determine whether such mechanisms can be exploited to selectively kill rapidly proliferating cancer cells.  He also aims to explore whether novel, unconventional metabolic strategies might be highly effective for the treatment of a variety of cancers.

 

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Project Title: "A novel strategy for attacking tumors based on the identification of a fundamental carbon-source signal driving cell growth"

Institution: UT Southwestern Medical Center

Sponsor(s) / Mentor(s): n/a

Cancer Type: All cancers

Research Area: Biochemistry