UCLA Journal of Radiation Oncology APRIL 2022 - Flipbook - Page 38
UCLA RADIATION ONCOLOGY JOURNAL
CANCER
MOONSHOT
with Dr. Erina Vlashi
I
n February, the ambitious
Cancer Moonshot initiative was
reignited by President Biden. The
goal of the bold program being: to
reduce the death rate from cancer
by at least fifty percent over the next
twenty-five years and improve the
experience of those living with and
surviving cancer.
Shortly after the announcement,
Dr. Erina Vlashi, an Associate
Professor, Division of Molecular
and Cellular Oncology within the
Department of Radiation Oncology,
received news that she was being
given a competitive Revision Award
for her ongoing, urgent research.
One of very few Radiation Oncology
Moonshots to be awarded.
This competitive Revision Award
will support the expansion of her
existing R01 project, which focuses
on the role tumor metabolism plays
in promoting radiation resistance
of glioblastoma (GBM). The parent
award is based on the observation
that GBM cells seem to reprogram
their metabolism following
radiation therapy and that some of
the metabolic changes are geared
towards mobilizing an antioxidant
response that promotes radiation
resistance. Based on preliminary
evidence that this radiationinduced metabolic reprogramming
is orchestrated in part by the
glycolytic, tumor-specific enzyme,
the M2 isoform of pyruvate kinase
(PKM2) and the transcription
factor, NRF2, we will also test
the radiotherapeutic potential of
interfering with the antioxidant
functions of PKM2-NRF2 axis.
The part of the project supported
by the Cancer Moonshot Initiative
will dive deeper into the role that
serine metabolism and some of
the molecular regulators play in
further facilitating the pro-survival
metabolic reprogramming in
GBM following RT, with the goal
of identifying additional potential
radiotherapeutic targets.
This award will also provide funds
for a hypoxia benchtop station that
will make possible to investigate
how the radiation-induced metabolic
reprogramming may differ under
hypoxic conditions, a critical
contributor to radioresistance in
tumors, including GBM. ☐
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