# Identifying factors regulating cancer metabolism in vivo

> **NIH NIH R00** · UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO · 2022 · $169,346

## Abstract

Project Summary
Altered metabolism is a hallmark of malignancy. Metabolic pathway changes contribute to cancer cell growth,
transformation and survival. These differences can be exploited to image tumor tissue and provide predictive
information to patients. Importantly, these metabolic differences can also be exploited therapeutically. Thus,
understanding cancer metabolism has important implications for pathophysiology and clinical oncology.
Progress in translating these studies into new therapies is limited by the fact that much of knowledge in tumor
metabolism is derived from studies in cultured cells with unknown relevance to disease biology. Similarly, cell
line xenografts may not accurately recapitulate the cellular heterogeneity of a primary tumor. For these reasons,
little is known about tumor metabolism in vivo, and the factors that regulate this behavior. My proposal utilizes
clinical samples wherein the metabolic behavior of the primary human tumor is evaluated and characterized.
These tissues are translated to mouse models, where I will evaluate what metabolic phenotypes are retained,
as well as test what intrinsic and extrinsic factors promote metabolic behavior. During the mentored phase of the
grant, I will focus on identifying retained/intrinsic metabolic phenotypes, as well as extrinsic factors such as the
role of tumor perfusion on nutrient preference. With these insights, I will continue independent research focusing
on the molecular details of these factors, to identify combinations of factors influencing cancer metabolism in
vivo.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10617481
- **Project number:** 4R00CA237724-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
- **Principal Investigator:** Brandon Faubert
- **Activity code:** R00 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $169,346
- **Award type:** 4N
- **Project period:** 2022-07-01 → 2025-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10617481

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10617481, Identifying factors regulating cancer metabolism in vivo (4R00CA237724-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10617481. Licensed CC0.

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