Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kıvanç Birsoy, Laboratory of Metabolic Regulation and Genetics The Rockefeller University
Kıvanç Birsoy received his B.S degree at Bilkent University, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, ranked 1st in the Faculty of Science. He received his Ph.D. in Jeffrey Friedman’s lab at the Rockefeller University (New York), where he studied molecular and cellular basis for obesity. He then studied cancer metabolism at the Whitehead Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge) as a postdoctoral fellow. In 2015, he joined Rockefeller University as assistant professor and serves as the head of Laboratory of Metabolic Regulation and Genetics. His recent studies have begun addressing how cancer cell metabolism can be exploited for therapeutic purposes. He is a recipient of the Jane Coffin Childs Medical Fund Fellow Award, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Special Fellow Award, Sokol Postdoctoral Award and NIH Career Transition Award. He has authored over 25 publications in journals including Nature, Cell, Science and Nature Genetics, and has co-authored several patents.
Research Focus
‘Systematic identification of cancer nutrient dependencies’
There is increasing evidence that genetic alterations modify the metabolic program of cancer cells. Associate Professor Kıvanç Birsoy, awarded by the Sabri Ülker Food Research Foundation, focuses on mapping the nutrient dependencies of various cancer types using “DNA Barcoding Technology.” This approach aims to identify potential nutrient addictions and develop new, targeted, and sustainable anti-cancer therapies by restricting nutrient uptake or usage, which could disrupt cancer cell proliferation without affecting normal cells.
Key references
- Birsoy K, Wang T, Chen WW, Freinkman E, Abu-Remaileh M, Sabatini DM. An Essential Role of the Mitochondrial Electron Transport Chain in Cell Proliferation Is to Enable Aspartate Synthesis. Cell. 2015 Jul 30;162(3):540-51.
- Birsoy K, Possemato R, Lorbeer FK, Bayraktar EC, Thiru P, Yucel B, Wang T, Chen WW, Clish CB, Sabatini DM. Metabolic determinants of cancer cell sensitivity to glucose limitation and biguanides. Nature. 2014 Apr 3;508(7494):108-12.
