Center for Cancer and Metabolism

Center for Cancer and Metabolism Research

The intersection of cancer and metabolism. We are dedicated to defining the role of metabolism in cancer treatment.

Thematically, CCM research is linked through a focus on cancer and metabolism – specifically capitalizing on highly specialized expertise in redox biology, cancer cell signaling, systems biochemistry, and data sciences. This environment is bolstered by the CCM’s two research core facilities in metabolism and imaging, which contribute sophisticated capabilities to create an integrated framework that furthers cancer-metabolism research.

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Daret St. Clair, PhD, Co-Director

Daret St. Clair’s research focuses on investigating the fundamental mechanisms by which reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) contribute to normal tissue injury and cancer formation. Her laboratory was the first to describe the genomic structure and organization for the human manganese superoxide dismutase gene. Her laboratory made the seminal discovery that MnSOD protects against cancer therapy-induced normal tissue injury, but enhances cancer therapy efficacy.

Binhua "Peter" Zhou, MD, PhD, Co-Director

Peter Zhou’s research has demonstrated that overexpression of HER2/neu activates the PI3-K/Akt signaling pathway, resulting in cell-cycle disruption, proliferation, and drug-resistance in breast cancer. His laboratory also systematically characterized the role and regulation of Snail and Twist, two key transcriptional factors, in the EMT and breast cancer. He discovered that Snail is a labile protein subject to the regulation of phosphorylation and ubiquitination and that inflammatory cytokines induce EMT and metastasis by stabilizing Snail.

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Using CCM Services

It is imperative that all users of CCM facilities, services, and/or equipment cite the COBRE NIH grant in their publications and other materials. The following language is an example of how to cite CCM facilities funded through the COBRE program in your acknowledgements:

Research reported in this publication was supported by the University of Kentucky Center for Cancer and Metabolism, funded through the NIH/NIGMS COBRE program under grant number P20 GM121327.