5.10 Abstract - CANCER METABOLISM (Core Group B) Cancer Metabolism (Core Group B) has been a developing Shared Resource in the Cancer Center for almost two years, and is now proposed as a full-fledged Cancer Center Shared Resource. In 2009, a cancer metabolism-focused Program Project grant led by Dr. Ze'ev Ronai, nucleated academic focus on cancer metabolism, and expanding this area of cancer research was part of the Center's 2009 strategic plan. Growing interest in metabolism among Cancer Center faculty, along with recruitment of new faculty interested in the link between cancer and metabolism, drove the Center to develop technical resources to support and enhance such analysis. Initial technology development began with the Institute-funded purchase of a Shimadzu QP2010 GC/MS in 2009. By 2012, Cancer Center efforts to more broadly provide and coordinate technology support in metabolic analysis led to creating a Developing Shared Resource. The first step was to hire Dr. Adam Richardson on a part-time basis, to initiate a Cancer Metabolism Core. Primarily through Institutional support, the developing Core acquired additional instrumentation: a YSI 7100 media analyzer, a Shimadzu Prominence HPLC, and a Seahorse XF24. With this set of tools along with staff expertise, the developing Shared Resource is able to provide a wide range of metabolic analyses to Cancer Center scientists, including stable isotope tracking of metabolic flux by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), measuring the abundances of specific metabolites by either GC/MS or LC/MS, observing metabolite exchange with the media using either GC/MS or the YSI 7100, and determining the cellular bioenergetics program via HPLC. The Resource also added Dr. David Scott on a part-time basis, to maintain the GC/MS and develop new GC/MS methodology. As the Core grew in scope and usage, Dr. Richardson moved to a full time position as Director of the developing Core in 2013 and a part-time technician was hired in 2014. In the past year, 13 Cancer Center groups have used the Core, and several high-profile publications have already been supported by the Core. The scientific focus of the Core is to investigate the role of metabolism in cancer and its microenvironment both at the cellular and at an organismal level, combining in vitro and in vivo analysis. Although interest in cancer metabolism is rapidly growing, both in the Cancer Center and in cancer research in general, many of the techniques and methodologies of the field are new to cancer biologists. As such, the Shared Resource places a strong emphasis on evaluating new projects and assisting Center researchers in planning the proper approaches and experiments. The Core staff works with Center investigators to design the appropriate experiments, educate and train laboratory scientists, and assist with data analysis and follow-up experiments. Such assistance includes guiding investigators new to metabolic analysis, as well as technically supporting experts in this area. Overall, the Core's technology and expertise in measuring metabolic changes in cancer, supports a rapidly growing field of research in the Center and a focal point in the Center's strategic plan.
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