GDCB Seminar — 'Studies of cancer metabolism using drosophila as a model system'
Speaker: Jason Tennessen, assistant professor in biology at Indiana University, Bloomington
Title: Studies of cancer metabolism using Drosophila as a model system
Abstract: The metabolism of proliferating cancer cells not only generates energy, but also synthesizes the biomolecules required for growth. In response to these metabolic demands, cancer cells rely on a metabolic program known as aerobic glycolysis, which synthesizes biomass from carbohydrates. The manner by which cancer cells rely on glucose metabolism suggests that this metabolic state could be exploited for therapeutic intervention and has become a focal point in cancer research. I have discovered that the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster also uses aerobic glycolysis to promote growth and have established the fly as a model for studying the genetic mechanisms that regulate this metabolic program. I will discuss how my lab is using this system to both identify novel regulators of aerobic glycolysis and explore conserved mechanism of oncometabolite synthesis.
Host: Hua Bai, GDCB assistant professor
Please join us for refreshments before the seminar outside Room 1414 of the Molecular Biology Building.