Research

Thesis title: "Dissecting Metabolic Regulatory Mechanisms in Cancer Recurrence"

Thesis outline: With rising survival rates and life expectancy of more and more cancer survivors, the risk of cancer recurrence is becoming an increasingly urgent clinical concern. Cancer regrowth is often driven by slow-cycling or dormant cancer cells, which are able to re-enter the proliferation cycle months or even years after initial treatment. Mounting evidence suggest that remodelling of cellular metabolism plays an important role in the switch from quiescence to proliferation and subsequent tumor regrowth. My PhD project aims to unravel the regulatory mechanisms underlying the metabolic adaptation of re-growing cancer cells. A deeper understanding of the metabolic processes governing reversible cell cycle exit and, perhaps more critically, the return to proliferation, may support the development of therapeutic strategies to specifically target dormant and recurrent cancer cells.

Supervisor: Karin Ortmayr, Advisor: Gergely Szakacs (MedUni Wien)

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