Project Grant R37CA283575

The University of California, Irvine has been awarded a $436,431 five-year Project Grant from the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Biology Research program (CFDA 93.396) to conduct research on targeting metabolic crosstalk in pancreatic cancer. The project aims to investigate factors that contribute to the programming of pancreatic cancer cells capable of producing and releasing asparagine, a metabolite that confers resistance to mitochondrial inhibitors. The research will leverage metabolic approaches to reprogram these cells and enhance the efficacy of mitochondrial inhibitors when combined with standard-of-care chemotherapy. This work will provide insights into mechanisms maintaining cancer cell heterogeneity and generate preclinical data on targeting metabolic crosstalk pathways to improve pancreatic cancer therapy response.