DF/HCC Seminars in Oncology Series with Matthew Vander Heiden

Matthew Vander Heiden, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Massachussets Institute of Technology 

"One of the first differences described between cancer cells and normal cells was a difference in metabolism. Using a combination of biochemistry, molecular biology and mouse models, our laboratory is interested in understanding how metabolism is regulated to influence different stages of tumor biology with a major goal to find novel approaches to treat cancer in the clinic. Cell proliferation requires the conversion of nutrients into biomass. Studies of this metabolic difference provides insight into in how proliferating cells, including cancer cells, convert nutrients into the chemical components needed to proliferate. Understanding how metabolism is regulated to support cell proliferation is a major focus of our lab; however, a large fraction of cells in tumors are not proliferating. These quiescent tumor cells are resistant to most cancer therapies and therefore represent a critically important cell population that is poorly understood. To better understand how these cancer cells adapt metabolism to survive in an inappropriate tissue context, we are also studying the metabolism of tumors in mouse cancer models with a goal of translating our biochemical understanding of cell metabolism into better cancer therapies."