# Membranes, Organelles, and Metabolism (MOM) Research Program

> **NIH NIH P30** · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $54,294

## Abstract

ABSTRACT – MEMBRANES, ORGANELLES, AND METABOLISM
Membranes, Organelles, and Metabolism (MOM) is a new program that was created during the reorganization
of the Basic Science Division in the Lurie Cancer Center (LCC). The program is founded on the emerging concept
that signaling and metabolic pathways rely on association with a physically interconnected network of cell
membranes and membrane-bound organelles, which are exploited by developing tumors to promote malignant
transformation and progression. Integration of the classic view of cellular signaling as a series of biochemical
reactions with this current perspective provides a clearly articulated focus for an outstanding group of basic
science investigators studying mitochondrial biogenesis and function, metabolism, signal transduction and host-
pathogen interactions. The broad objectives of MOM are to elucidate how cellular membranes and organelles
drive cell response and effector cascades, to determine how tumors and tumor-causing pathogens exploit these
pathways, and to identify pathway components as therapeutics targets. These objectives are pursued in three
specific aims: (1) Understand how cells utilize metabolic pathways to dictate cell proliferation, metabolic
adaptation, and gene expression thereby modulating tumor growth; (2) Define the molecular mechanisms by
which pathogens disrupt and/or utilize host pathways to stimulate tumorigenesis; (3) Determine how signal
transduction pathways initiated from plasma membrane and/or organelles are integrated in cancer cells to
promote tumorigenesis.
The MOM program leader is Navdeep S. Chandel Ph.D., Professor in the Department of Medicine and the
Department Cell and Molecular Biology. He is an expert in cancer metabolism, mitochondrial biology, and
oxidative stress. The co-leader is Curt Horvath, Ph.D., a Professor in the Department of Molecular Biosciences,
whose expertise is in mechanisms of cytokine signal transduction and gene regulation in normal and malignant
cells. Drs. Chandel and Horvath lead an interdepartmental cohort of investigators comprising 36 faculty from 10
departments and 3 schools. Between 2013 and 2017 there were 405 cancer-relevant publications from the
program, 71 (18%) of which represent intra-programmatic collaborations and 157 (39%) represent inter-
programmatic collaborations. Work in the MOM program is supported by cancer-relevant peer-reviewed funding
of $12,161,291 (direct) with $2,187,789 (direct) from NCI and $9,973,502 (direct) from other peer-reviewed
sources. The MOM program provides its members with the research support, tools, and scientific networking
opportunities to achieve an understanding of how interference with membrane networks and metabolism
contributes to cell transformation and tumor progression. Through MOM-sponsored monthly membership
meetings, workshops, symposia, and seminar series, the program fosters collaboration between program
members and their clinical/translational partners, and links...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10228201
- **Project number:** 5P30CA060553-27
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** NAVDEEP S CHANDEL
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $54,294
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1997-08-15 → 2023-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10228201

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10228201, Membranes, Organelles, and Metabolism (MOM) Research Program (5P30CA060553-27). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10228201. Licensed CC0.

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