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Translational Cancer Metabolism Initiative

Integrating omics with AI to decode complex data, enhancing understanding of cancer evolution, therapy resistance, metastasis, and tumor-microenvironment interactions to make breakthrough discoveries in cancer therapy.

Overview

Metabolism and signaling that control development and phenotype are the final outputs of interactions between the genome and the environment. Understanding the complex and coordinated function of metabolic signaling is key to understanding the causes of diseases.

The Translational Cancer Metabolism Initiative (TCMI) at Winship Cancer Institute is a robust, and collaborative, research initiative. Our goal is to be self-sustaining with support from the National Institutes of Health, foundation grants, and philanthropy.

Structure and Operation

By fostering team science, collaboration, and networking with the integration of AI, we will enhance our efforts through measurable goals, including boosting multi-investigator grants, program projects, patents, and high-quality publications.

The initiative includes a core group of cancer metabolism investigators and is open to others with active projects or interest in translational cancer metabolism research and who are members of one of Winship’s four research programs. We meet monthly to present projects and grant ideas, specific aims, and critiques for feedback from the research community, and share information about tools, reagents, and equipment in our laboratories and facilities.

Research Support

The initiative will offer two $50,000 pilot grants to encourage multi-investigator collaborations in translational cancer metabolism research. An announcement of the first grant cycle will be shared in summer 2025.

Education and Training

The initiative offers a seminar series featuring nationally recognized speakers at Winship Cancer Institute's Clifton campus. Twice a year, invited speakers will present in Winship's Elkin lecture series.

We also plan to host an annual symposium each spring starting in 2026. Check back soon for more details as they become available.

Related Core Facilities

Lipidomics and Targeted Metabolomics

The Emory Integrated Metabolomics and Lipidomics Core performs quantitative lipidomics and targeted metabolomics analyses on samples from a wide variety of biological matrices to support clinical and research efforts. These analyses provide enhanced understanding of lipid mediators and soluble metabolites whose abundance may be monitored as biomarkers to predict and follow the progression of a wide range of diseases including cancer, diabetes and liver disease. Contact Kristal Maner-Smith, PhD, via email with any inquiries.

Pediatric Metabolomics and Biomarkers

The Pediatric Metabolomics and Biomarkers Core provides innovative approaches to accomplish unbiased, highly sensitive, and biologically meaningful evaluation of metabolites and metabolic pathways in a wide range of sample types. Techniques offered include high-resolution and polytargeted metabolomics, isotope tracing and fluxomics, fully quantitative targeted analysis, and metabolomic imaging. Unique to Emory's facilities, the core supports hypothesis-driven research to investigate specific biomarkers of interest and corresponding metabolomic pathways, thus supporting research in disease diagnostics, drug development, and personalized medicine. Contact Joshua Chandler, PhD, via email with any inquiries.