Events

The behavior of all living cells is shaped by a complex interplay of intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Studies in human cells operate under the implicit assumption that they can generate views reflective of cellular behavior in the body. However, most such studies still rely on model systems that, while helpful for exploring how aspects of cell biology vary with natural intrinsic diversity, are far removed from the metabolic conditions that cells may encounter in the human body. Moreover, such systems offer limited control of the extracellular environment. Therefore, it is a central challenge to investigate basic human cell physiology and drug sensitivity in systems that more faithfully model and address the possible influence of extrinsic factors. The high-level goal of our research program is to understand how metabolic conditions affect the behavior of human cells, with an emphasis toward unraveling genetic and environmental contributions to cell fitness. I will discuss recent studies from our group that have focused on understanding how gene essentiality and anticancer drug activity can be impacted by the nutrient environment. I will also highlight our ongoing work that leverages a new continuous-flow bioreactor platform to study cell behavior in tightly controlled and fixed (steady state) conditions with relevance to human health and disease.  

https://biochem.wisc.edu/people/cantor/