My research areas are cancer metabolism and brain tumors. Our work seeks to identify new metabolic targets that could lead to novel and innovative treatments for cancer. We are also examining the molecular links between cancer and diabetes.
I became interested in cancer research during my graduate research courses in biology. In one of my lab’s groundbreaking discoveries, we identified the energy sensor adenosine monophosphate-activated protein (AMP) kinase as an essential gene for glioblastoma pathology. This work was published in Nature Cell Biology. We also performed the first gene-metabolite interactome of diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG).
I am honored to have received the Larry E. Kun Achievement in Excellence award, the TeamConnor Childhood Cancer Foundation award (2019) and the Outstanding Achievement Award from Cincinnati Children’s for Brain Tumor Research (2016). I have been a principal investigator for more than 11 years and began working at Cincinnati Children’s in 2009. Work in my laboratory has been continuously supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and various private foundation grants.
We have published in many well-respected journals, including Nature Cell Biology, PNAS, Nature Communications, Cancer Cell, Cell Reports, Science Advances, Cell Stem Cell, Developmental Cell, Cancer Research, Clinical Cancer Research, Journal of Neuroscience, Neuro-Oncology, and Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, among others.