The Arkansas Integrative Metabolic Research Center (AIMRC) will host Gunnar Boysen, an associate professor of environmental and occupational health, at 12:55 p.m. on Wednesday, March 5, in ARKV 0002. Boysen will discuss his work in studying tumor metabolism and using advanced therapy approaches, such as combination therapies and novel drug delivery devices and strategies, to improve lung cancer outcomes.   

Abstract: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the US with an overall 5-year survival rate of less than 17 percent. The poor survival rate is attributed to the fact that most patients are diagnosed with advanced metastatic disease. As a result, the presence of metastases precludes complete surgical resection, and treatment for these patients relies solely on chemotherapy, immunotherapy, thoracic radiation or a combination of these. An important class of novel therapies targets tumor metabolism because tumor cells re-program their metabolism to accommodate increased nutrient demands. Dr. Boysen recently reported that lung tumor metastases and lung tumor cells use large amounts of glutamine to drive glutathione synthesis. Inhibition of glutaminase (GLS) in lung tumor cells results in glutathione (GSH) depletion and tumor cell-specific cytotoxicity. Dr. Boysen utilizes advanced therapy approaches, such as combination therapies, novel drug delivery devices and strategies to improve lung cancer therapy.

Biography: Boysen received his M.S. in biology and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Kaiserslautern in collaboration with the University of Minnesota Cancer Center. He then pursued a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill before joining the University of Arkansas for Medical Science, where he is currently an associate professor of environmental and occupational health. Boysen's research interest has been to understand the interplay between chemical exposure and nutritional or other lifestyle habits, including physical activity, and their contribution to disease outcomes using various metabolomic, proteomic and genomic technologies.

This event is supported by NIGMS of the National Institutes of Health under award number P20GM139768. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Pizza and beverages will be served. Please contact Kimberley Fuller, fullerk@uark.edu, for more information.

For those unable to attend in person, this seminar will also be available via Zoom.