1/Congrats
@ASolmonson
@CRI_UTSW
for her paper on midgestation metabolism, online today
@Nature
Relevant to inborn errors of metabolism and healthy mammalian development. Tweetorial coming shortly -RJD
Our first attempt to use intra-operative isotope labeling to study metabolism in pediatric cancer patients. Congrats Kendra Johnston, Pany Pachnis,
@Brandon_Faubert
,
@Aslan_Tasdogan
and excellent clinical collaborators Patrick Leavey and Tanya Watt. -RJD
FUN FACT: you can do minipreps in 5mL tubes (like flow tubes)! There’s enough space that you don’t have to dump liquid after each spin. Centrifuge at 3000g for 1 minute for spin steps
#WednesdayWisdom
I got married to
@distefano_donna
25 years ago today, on a sunny day in Stony Brook, NY. Here we are in Venice/Burano 25 years ago, 15 years ago and last week. I’m so lucky to have spent so much time with this amazing person ❤️ -RJD
Got sick and had to cancel my trip to
@KeystoneSymp
. Watching my student
@dbezwada
speak in my slot. She crushed it! Better than I would have done. That’s not the COVID talking.
#proud
. Thanks organizers for the late switch. -RJD
As many of us ramp down operations, I keep thinking about how lucky we (academic scientists) are to get a steady paycheck/have job security amidst
#Covid_19
. More vulnerable members of our society won’t have the option 1/2
Ever wonder what would happen if you performed 13C labeling in 80+ lung cancer cell lines, then correlated the metabolic data with oncogenotypes, transcriptome/proteome profiling and therapeutic sensitivities? We did. -RJD
1/Sharing a new review
@NatureRevCancer
on stable isotope tracing in patients with cancer. With
@Brandon_Faubert
@Caroline_Bartma
and Josh Rabinowitz. We review what the field has learned by applying this technique to human tumors. -RJD
This is so brilliant. I’ve tried and failed so many times to get a cover image and I’ve had 3 cats this whole time. Lab: only cat photos from now on. Relevance unimportant. -RJD
Really nice new preprint from
@rutterlab
looking at protein-metabolite interactions in central carbon metabolism, check it out! Gotta love all the kinetic assays too
Protein-Metabolite Interactomics Reveals Novel Regulation of Carbohydrate Metabolism
1/Thank you
@theNCI
for supporting cancer metabolism research. The OIA/R35 has enabled work in my lab since 2017. To be renewed along with this incredible group of scientists is a true honor. -RJD
Where the TCA cycle haters at,
#notwitterNav
's got some words for you: Mitochondrial TCA cycle metabolites control physiology and disease
#Krebsfanclub
I am delighted to congratulate Dr. Divya Bezwada
@dbezwada
on a successful defense of her PhD thesis. Divya studied metabolism in human clear cell renal cell carcinomas, blending clinical, translational and basic research. -RJD
Our new review on metabolic heterogeneity in cancer is online
@Cell_Metabolism
. Complex topic in an exciting area - I hope we did it justice. Thanks Jiyeon Kim
@JiyeonK37151066
for all the hard work. -RJD
Helping my 11 year old study for her written Phys Ed exam (her school is rigorous) and excited to see that the first three questions were to define “aerobic,” “anaerobic” and “lactic acid.”
She cut me off after 45 minutes. -RJD
1/Do you like isotope tracing? New paper from Feng Cai and
@dbezwada
@CRI_UTSW
, online
@Cell_Metabolism
, shows how to derive maximum 13C labeling information from tiny specimens. Big thanks to
@metabolicminds1
for help on this project. 🧵 below. -RJD.
This is pretty awesome and long overdue. Metabolism but with CYTOF—110 transporters/enzymes/cell markers. Congrats
@felixjhartmann
and
@Bendall_Lab
!
Multiplexed Single-cell Metabolic Profiles Organize the Spectrum of Human Cytotoxic T Cells
Out of patience for 2020, and halfway through a bottle of beautiful champagne. “The bottle is half full.” Best wishes to all of you for health, happiness and scientific triumphs in 2021. -RJD
Overt racism is a scourge, but at least it’s easy to see. Implicit bias is widespread, insidious and a more troublesome barrier to durable social change and justice. We need to acknowledge this and recognize its impact, including in our own behaviors. -RJD
1/Surprise “Sweet 16”birthday party for RJDLab. The lab launched on Jan 7, 2008
@UTSWNews
. Moved to
@CRI_UTSW
at the end of 2011. What a ride! Thanks Jessica (lab manager since Feb, 2008) for remembering! -RJD
1/Haig H. Kazazian, Jr., MD, my PhD advisor, passed away on January 19. Haig was a pediatrician, medical geneticist and exceptional investigator, teacher, mentor and friend. Highlights about Haig’s life and science: . -RJD
Congratulations Jin and
@gdanuser1
!!!! Awesome watching this story unfold from Jin, a phenomenal grad student in the Danuser lab
Mechanical regulation of glycolysis via cytoskeleton architecture
Giving thanks for my family, lab and
@CRI_UTSW
&
@UTSWNews
colleagues. I’m also grateful for friends in metabolism research: brilliant people who inspire and challenge with their rigor, creativity and determination to make discoveries. -RJD
1/5 The cancer metabolism community lost an outstanding scientist and even better friend when Dr. Georgia Hatzivassiliou passed away last week of metastatic breast cancer, too soon and too young. Re-posting one of her landmark papers here. -RJD
The Genetic and Metabolic Disease Program
@CRI_UTSW
@UTSWNews
wore stripes today to raise awareness about rare disorders:
@rarediseaseday
2022. Sometimes hoofbeats mean there’s a 🦓. -RJD
What makes for a great scientific talk? Thoughtful explanation of the rationale, logical experimental design, clear presentation of the data and honest interpretation. All more important than dramatic leaps of brilliance. -RJD
1/Fascinating view of the
#Warburg
effect from
@gjpatti
. Lactate is produced when shuttles transferring reducing equivalents from cyto to mito become saturated; then LDH picks up the slack. Limiting factor is shuttle capacity, not ETC. -RJD
Congratulations to CRI's Ralph DeBerardinis (
@RJDLab
), who was recognized today w/
@sloan_kettering
's Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research. Ralph’s achievements include helping to pioneer a new way to study altered metabolism directly in cancer patients.
This is a cool tool, congrats
@apatgir
and
@VamsiMootha
!
An engineered enzyme that targets circulating lactate to alleviate intracellular NADH:NAD+ imbalance
1/New review on experimental approaches in metabolism, with
@KeshariLab
, online today
@CellCellPress
in Cell’s special issue exploring the biology-technology interface. -RJD
Applications for tenure-track faculty positions are now open.
We’re seeking researchers interested in joining a collaborative and dynamic institute focused on the areas of stem cells, cancer, metabolism and genetics.
Apply by November 1 ⤵️
Great to see the Lurie Prize recognize research in mitochondrial biology. It's incredible how our understanding of mitochondrial function in health & disease has broadened in 20 yrs, particularly through advances from these two remarkable scientists. -RJD
To our cancer/metabolism friends, I'm interested in how many have started COVID-19 projects. Do we take up the challenge of an emergent, worldwide health problem, or stay focused on our areas of expertise? No judgement from me - I'm just curious how people think about this. -RJD
T O D A Y
Have you ever thought man, I wish metabolism was interesting. Well, do we have the lecture for you. New York's hottest club will exist only for an hour at
3PM EST
2PM CT
12 PM PT
and just for Jared, 1PM MT
@RutterLab
Reminder that anyone can come hear Ralph DeBerardinis
@RJDLab
give his Paul Marks Prize lecture tomorrow in person (ZRC!) or on zoom at 3p EST. Send your questions after the talk and I'll do my best hybrid-moderating!
“Managing,” in the sense of establishing the lab’s direction and culture, fostering its reputation and mentoring on every project, is rewarding, not a problem. It also requires commitment to all aspects of the scientific process. I know I’m not alone in this opinion. -RJD
A central problem in science today is that scientists are encouraged by the system to become just managers; meaning the vast majority of the scientific process is handled solely by grad students, postdocs, & research scientists without much input from the principal investigators.
With the New Year upon us, I’d like to thank my family, lab and colleagues in
#cancer
,
#metabolism
and
#pediatric
inborn errors research. We are in an incredible period of advancement in genetic and metabolic diseases. Best wishes to all for more discoveries in 2020. -RJD
We’re excited to announce our new group of HHMI investigators! HHMI is proud to help these 19 extraordinary scientists continue to move science forward. Find out who they are:
#HHMIInvestigators
#tbt
today is Norman Good! In 1966, Good described 12 easy to prep zwitterionic buffers that met 9 criteria. There were no good standard buffers (pH 6-8, nontoxic) for bio research before this. Good's buffers (MES, HEPES etc) are still used today! Paper:
Very sad day for the
@Autophagy
field. Beth Levine has died after a long fight against cancer. She will always be a reference for the field, as a woman and as a scientist.
Congrats Brandon
@Brandon_Faubert
for receiving a K99 from the NCI! Always great to see that NOA - never gets old. Keep up the great work Brandon.
@CRI_UTSW
-RJD
Wow another paper on the requirement of mitochondrial NADPH for proline synthesis! Always great to see independent studies confirming a finding. Congrats to Craig Thompson’s group and
@Gerta_Hoxhaj
for her paper in
@NatMetabolism
!
🎉We are thrilled to announce Dr. Ralph DeBerardinis (
@RJDLab
) has been elected to the Association of American Physicians! This honor recognizes his ongoing work to understand the role of metabolic abnormalities in disease, particularly in cancer.
First paper on inborn errors of metabolism from the Genetic and Metabolic Disease Program
@CRI_UTSW
@UTSWNews
@ChildrensTheOne
. -RJD. Functional Assessment of Lipoyltransferase-1 Deficiency in Cells, Mice, and Humans
Congrats
@dbezwada
for winning the Ida M. Green Award! This award recognizes a female UTSW graduate student for scientific accomplishments and commitment to the UTSW community. Well deserved.
@UTSWNews
@CRI_UTSW
@UTSWCancerBio
-RJD
Happy Thanksgiving to all, and best wishes for a peaceful day with family and friends. No extravagant meal photos for me this year, as we took a long family road trip. So please enjoy this gorgeous West Texas sunrise instead. -RJD
From the break area on NL11 near my lab. First time without a mask since 3/2020. Today we move to Phase 4 operations, with masks and distancing no longer required in nonclinical areas. Thank you to those
@UTSWNews
who have kept us safe and informed. -RJD
Congrats and good luck to
@Brandon_Faubert
, great scientist, great collaborator, soon to be great faculty member
@UChicagoMed
. We will miss you! -RJD
Here’s my daughter at school for the first time since March. Just another sign of what happens when you try to fight a pandemic by lying about it and suppressing science: masked 3rd graders at school once every 6 months. -RJD
Thanks for the birthday wishes – I had a great day that reminded me yet again how lucky I am to be surrounded by smart people determined to bring new knowledge to the world. To my lab, mentors, clinic, friends and family – thanks for hanging in there with me. -RJD
Josh Rabinowitz making Gibbs energy great again. Enzymatic rxns with small G values have spare enzyme to regulate flux. Beautiful use of tracers and fundamental thermodynamics
Near-equilibrium glycolysis supports metabolic homeostasis and energy yield
An amazing talk with Helen Hobbs, Sean Morrison,
@Mendell_lab
, &
@Zhu_Lab
today. Takeaways:
1. Stay desperate, have urgency
2. Stay focused
3. Aim to do things others are not
4. Do a LOT of good experiments
5. Ask what you will do today to be farther ahead by the end of the day
Just a great time celebrating Craig Thompson at his Symposium
@MSKCancerCenter
this weekend. Here are Craig and Tullia with some lab members from the
@PennMedicine
years. So much talent and so many great memories. -RJD
Matthew Vander Heiden, MIT professor of biology and a pioneer in the field of cancer cell metabolism, has been named the next director of MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research.
New from Arin Aurora and
@SJMorrison_
!
Loss of glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase function increases oxidative stress and glutaminolysis in metastasizing melanoma cells
Congrats Jason Xu and thanks for working with us this summer thru
@utswstars
program. People, LOOK AT THAT POSTER. So much data! So few words!! PI very happy. Jason has the chops for a career in research. Stay in touch!
@MinNi_utsw
@JianXuLab
-RJD
Congratulations
@TrevorTippetts1
, who is receiving a postdoctoral fellowship from
@AHA_Research
to study metabolic causes of cardiomyopathy! Trevor is an outstanding scientist, mentor and
@CRI_UTSW
citizen. Lucky to have him in our community. -RJD
HHMI News: We are proud to announce our 33 new
#HHMIInvestigators
. These individuals have the potential to make transformative discoveries over time and we look forward to seeing where their ideas lead them.