Our lab is focused on answering the question-What is the role of tumor microenvironment in modulating cancer cell metabolism? We have developed several metabolic isotope tracing and 13C-based metabolic flux analysis developed in our lab. cells. Notably, we are focusing on personalized metabolic therapy and circulating tumor cell organoids and tumor tissue slices in pancreatic, lung, and breast cancers. We integrate high dimensional imaging, tissue engineering, metabolic engineering, bioinformatics, machine learning, and systems biology tools developed in our labs to understand metabolic interactions between cancer and stromal cells. Using our recently developed platform, collateral lethal identification of metabolic targets (CLIM)-a machine learning and genome-scale metabolic flux analysis-based framework, we elucidate the broad efficacy of targeting MTHFD2 despite distinct cancer genetic profiles co-occurring with UQCR11 deletion and irrespective of stromal compositions of tumors.” Our CLIM method can be used to identify metabolic vulnerabilities in other cancers and could serve as a precision treatment plans for a host of malignancies.
