Zachary Schug, Ph.D.

Alterations in the acquisition and metabolism of nutrients are now firmly recognized as hallmarks of cancer development. Many, if not all, oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes induce metabolic reprogramming in cancer cells through changes in the regulation of enzymes and transporters. These changes are necessary for cancer cells to meet the combined biomass and energy demands for growth and are only satisfied by increased capture and synthesis of cellular building blocks such as sugars, fats, and proteins. In addition, cancer cells often invade other tissues where the availability of certain nutrients is drastically different or grow so quickly that the blood supply, and the accessibility to oxygen and other nutrients that comes with it, becomes scarce. During these conditions of nutrient stress, many cancer cells will adapt and use alternative available resources to survive. As part of this process, we also study the interactions between cancer cells and tumor infiltrating immune cells. The lab seeks to better understand the competition for nutrients in the tumor microenvironment through the study of diet, immunometabolism, and tumor metabolism using LC-MS based approaches.

The Schug laboratory is interested in identifying and therapeutically targeting the metabolic changes that arise during the development of cancer and metastasis. They combine cell biology, biochemistry, metabolomics, lipidomics, and genomics to uncover novel metabolic vulnerabilities in cancer. These targets are then further developed for use as effective therapeutic strategies to improve cancer patient treatment.