"My research focuses on understanding how metabolic regulation shapes cancer progression and tumor immunity, with the long-term goal of identifying strategies to improve cancer treatment. A central theme of my work is uncovering metabolic vulnerabilities that can be leveraged to convert immunologically “cold” tumors into “hot,” immune-responsive states.
In the near term, my laboratory investigates how metabolic perturbations enhance tumor immunogenicity and sensitize cancers to immunotherapy. I am particularly interested in genetic and chemical strategies that promote MHC class I mediated antigen presentation, thereby increasing tumor visibility to the immune system.
My research program is organized around two complementary directions. First, we study how mitochondrial metabolic disturbances influence tumor immunogenicity by systematically disrupting mitochondrial carrier proteins that regulate metabolite exchange and mitochondrial homeostasis. Second, we employ integrated genetic and chemical screening approaches, including CRISPR-Cas9 libraries and small-molecule compound screens, to identify novel regulators of MHC-I surface expression and antigen presentation.
Together, this work aims to define fundamental links between mitochondrial metabolism, antigen presentation, and immune recognition, and to uncover new metabolic targets that can be exploited to enhance the efficacy of cancer immunotherapies."