# University of Kentucky Center for Cancer and Metabolism

> **NIH NIH P20** · UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY · 2021 · $2,248,005

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
 Cancer cell survival traits such as suppressed apoptosis, rapid cell cycling and proliferation and the ability
to metastasize from a primary location require extensive metabolic reprogramming of the tumor
microenvironment. Intriguing new insights into the novel role of metabolic dysregulation in tumorigenesis and
metastasis increasingly draw attention to currently understudied areas of cancer research: the potential for
metabolic modulation to influence therapeutic outcomes and the impact of metabolic events at the clinical level
to impact quality of life for cancer patients. The University of Kentucky (UK) proposes to establish a unique
multidisciplinary Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) on Cancer and Metabolism (CCM) as a
strategically designed, sustainable framework that cultivates cutting-edge research focused on the role of
metabolic mediators of cancer development and progression. The proposed multidisciplinary center leverages
highly specialized expertise in redox biology, cancer cell signaling, systems biochemistry and data sciences as
well as the presence of advanced metabolomics and sophisticated cancer imaging capabilities to create an
integrated cancer-metabolism research framework. Overarching goals are to strengthen UK's cancer research
enterprise by providing a thematically focused multidisciplinary infrastructure dedicated to defining the
contribution of metabolism in the development and treatment of cancer and to use this novel multidisciplinary
platform to develop promising early-stage investigators with enhanced skills in an exciting new area of cancer
research. To accomplish these goals, we will (1) develop a critical mass of funded investigators with research
programs directly related to the Center's unifying theme, (2) provide strong team-based mentoring combining
basic and clinical expertise, (3) recruit new investigators to the Center through pilot project grant support
leveraged by institutional funds, (4) create synergy among research projects via critical links to strong research
centers at UK, including existing COBREs, and (5) facilitate the translation of basic findings in cancer
metabolism into early therapeutic approaches. Proposed new synergies will be developed through four
research projects, an Administrative Core, important research cores in metabolism and imaging and strong
biostatistics/ bioinformatics support, all of which are critical to the proposed studies and will contribute to the
development of institutional resources. The scientific focus of the four research projects is cancer-metabolism
interactions spanning basic and translational perspectives. This concentration of multidisciplinary expertise
focused on a newly recognized cancer paradigm holds promise for significant new understandings of
oncogenesis overall. The CCM's integrative thematic focus and the clinical and translational implications of
innovative understandings of the cancer-metabolism axis have strong pot...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10073518
- **Project number:** 5P20GM121327-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY
- **Principal Investigator:** DARET K ST CLAIR
- **Activity code:** P20 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $2,248,005
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-03-01 → 2021-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10073518

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10073518, University of Kentucky Center for Cancer and Metabolism (5P20GM121327-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10073518. Licensed CC0.

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