“Discovering new pathways in the fight against cancer”

Our laboratories investigate the mechanisms whereby cancer cells initiate and adapt to the metabolic and inflammatory conditions of the tumor microenvironment. Our goal is to identify pathways and molecules that make tumors addicted to signals that generate vulnerabilities, establishing new therapeutic targets, irrespective of the oncogenic mutations that initially drove the tumorigenic process. Studies in our labs regularly contribute impactful discoveries in three main cancer types: colorectal, liver, and prostate. We are particularly focused on the family of PB1-containing proteins. We discovered p62/SQSTM1, the first member of this family of critical regulators of cell function. p62/SQSTM1 is an adaptor of metabolic and proliferative signaling pathways, which together with its partner NBR1 and the also PB1-containing kinases, PKCz and PKCl/i, play central roles in tumorigenesis by controlling autophagy, metabolic reprogramming, and inflammation.