AIMRC Seminar on Bioenergetic Regulation of Collective Migration in Breast Cancer

Dr. Jian Zhang

Dr. Jian Zhang Headshot

The Arkansas Integrative Metabolic Research Center will host assistant professor Jian Zhang at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 28, in ENGR 209 when he will describe his research in understanding the role of cancer bioenergetics in collective migration — a major mode solid tumors use to invade the surrounding tissues.    

Altered metabolism is a hallmark of cancer, which provides biomass and energy to support fast cancer cell growth and proliferation. Recent evidence suggests that the metabolic program in cancer also plays fundamental roles in promoting invasive cancer cell migration. By combining the use of genetically encoded metabolic probes, the engineering of 3D extracellular matrices and computational modeling, Zhang demonstrated that cancer cells at the invasion front employ a "drafting" mechanism to overcome the resistance imposed by the matrices and efficiently to invade the surrounding space as a group. He also showed how an elevation of cellular energy associated with cell cycle progression drives an advective flow of cells and energy toward the front to support cancer invasion. Finally, he will discuss how cancer cells acquire mitochondria from stromal cells to increase their energy metabolism and to assist their invasion. 

Zhang joined the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the U of A as an assistant professor in Fall 2022. Zhang received his B.S. in theoretical and applied mechanics from Peking University in Beijing, China, and his Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After obtaining his Ph.D., Zhang joined the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Vanderbilt University. During his postdoctoral work with Cynthia Reinhart-King at Vanderbilt and his doctoral work with Yu-li Wang at Carnegie Mellon, Zhang has focused on understanding the mechanical and bioenergetic principles governing cell migration in different microenvironmental systems via a combination of innovative computational, engineering and biological approaches.

This will be a hybrid event, with participation also possible via Zoom. Pizza will be served in ENGR 209.

If you have any questions about this event, please contact Kimberley Fuller (fullerk@uark.edu).