Kathryn E. Wellen, Ph.D.

Research

Our laboratory is interested in understanding how nutrient metabolism interfaces with signaling and transcriptional networks, with a focus on metabolic regulation of the epigenome. Diseases such as cancer and diabetes are characterized by significant epigenetic and cell metabolic alterations. Chromatin modifications such as histone acetylation are sensitive to changes in nutrient metabolism, although the contribution of metabolism to regulation of the epigenome in either normal physiology or disease states is not clear. Our goals are to define the molecular mechanisms linking cellular metabolism to chromatin structure and to provide insight into the functional significance of this interaction in cancer and metabolic diseases.