Caleb Cheng
@djcalebc.bsky.social
✝️🇹🇼🇺🇸 MD/PhD student at the University of Michigan. Cellular and Molecular Biology candidate in Arul Chinnaiyan and Costas Lyssiotis laboratories
In a recent Nature paper, @djcalebc.bsky.social et al. explore how PIKfyve regulates lysosomal lipid recycling in PDAC. This opens up a therapeutic window: co-inhibition of PIKfyve and the KRAS–MAPK pathway leads to synthetic lethality & tumor regression. View it here >>> nature.com/articles/s41...
more from last week www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Targeting PIKfyve-driven lipid metabolism in pancreatic cancer - Nature
A study of human and mouse models of pancreatic cancer finds that inhibiting the lipid kinase PIKfyve interferes with the cancer’s lipid homeostasis, making it a potential target for drug development.
nature.com
My team and I are at #AACR25 and have posters to discuss parts of the project (and some future directions) tomorrow! Rüya Pakkan will present on Tuesday AM Abstract #4158 Sec 13 board 8. I will present on Tuesday PM #5384 Sec 12 board 12. Come visit!
Nature@nature.com · last yr.Nature research paper: Targeting PIKfyve-driven lipid metabolism in pancreatic cancer https://go.nature.com/3GmBnvc
Thanks @bryantkl.bsky.social for the shoutout!! Look forward to seeing your future work including target PIKfyve as well as RAS in PDAC 💪
Bryant Lab UNC@bryantkl.bsky.social · last yr.Congrats @djcalebc.bsky.social on this tour de force and beautiful study highlighting the important role of PIKfyve in orchestrating lipid metabolism in #pancreatic cancer. Excited by the prospect of a better anti-autophagy target to pair with #RAS inhibitors!
Thanks for this writeup and for highlighting our work!!
Ananya Sen@ana-sen.bsky.social · last yr.Pancreatic cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related death. U-M researchers, including @djcalebc.bsky.social and @lyssiotislab.bsky.social, have discovered that simultaneously targeting two key pathways can eliminate tumors. Learn more about their work in @nature.com at michmed.org/Zx7wD.
🔥Smoking hot new paper and tweetorial from @djcalebc.bsky.social (collab with Chinnaiyan Lab)! 🔥 We are over the moon about this new work and its therapeutic implications for pancreatic cancer. Please have a read and share your thoughts/feedback! 🙏🏼
Caleb Cheng@djcalebc.bsky.social · last yr.Beyond grateful to share that my main PhD thesis project, Targeting PIKfyve-driven lipid metabolism in pancreatic cancer (@lyssiotislab.bsky.social + Arul Chinnaiyan lab), has just been published in @nature.com!
Excited to be part of this #AACR25 (@theaacr.bsky.social @rickbuck.bsky.social) Social Media Ambassadorship!! Look out for updates on the #Tumor-microenvironment ( #TME )-relevant events and highlights. I’ll be posting from Sunday afternoon to midday Wednesday 😎
Vivek Subbiah, MD@viveksubbiah.bsky.social · last yr.🚨The #AACR25 buzz is building! I’m thrilled to be a Social Media Ambassador for this year’s #AACR Annual Meeting. 👉🏼Please join me & all the ambassadors as we spotlight the exciting science. Research matters—and so does sharing it. Join the convo with @theaacr.bsky.social @rickbuck.bsky.social
Thank you for the highlight!!
Wafik S. El-Deiry, MD, PhD, FACP@weldeiry.bsky.social · last yr.Targeting PIKfyve-driven lipid metabolism in pancreatic cancer “targeting PIKfyve and KRAS–MAPK resulted in the elimination of the tumour burden in numerous preclinical human and mouse models” www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Beyond grateful to share that my main PhD thesis project, Targeting PIKfyve-driven lipid metabolism in pancreatic cancer (@lyssiotislab.bsky.social + Arul Chinnaiyan lab), has just been published in @nature.com!
Congrats to @djcalebc.bsky.social and @lyssiotislab.bsky.social for this awesome work🤩 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Targeting PIKfyve-driven lipid metabolism in pancreatic cancer - Nature
A study of human and mouse models of pancreatic cancer finds that inhibiting the lipid kinase PIKfyve interferes with the cancer’s lipid homeostasis, making it a potential target for drug development.
nature.com
Happy to share our most recent review on mitochondria-organelle metabolic communication with Yatrik Shah and Costas Lyssiotis now online at Molecular Cell! We explored aspect of lipid transfer, organelle membrane contacts, ROS, metabolites, and metals! www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Mitochondria-organelle crosstalk in establishing compartmentalized metabolic homeostasis
Mitochondria serve as central hubs in cellular metabolism by sensing, integrating, and responding to metabolic demands. This integrative function is a…
sciencedirect.com
Excited for this!
Sara Nowinski@saranowinski.bsky.social · last yr.Registration is live for the 1st ever Midwest Metabolism & TRiMAD dual meeting, hosted jointly by VAI + U of M in Ann Arbor, MI November 10-11, 2025! We have some exciting speakers but most will come from abstracts so submit your best #mitochondria & #metabolism research! www.vai.org/event/2025-m...
An incredible tour de force in biochemistry and cell biology by superstar @robzonculab.bsky.social lab postdoc @aakritijain.bsky.social LyLAP - a new lysosomal protease responsible for degrading integral membrane proteins in highly phagocytic cells like #PDAC cells. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Leucine aminopeptidase LyLAP enables lysosomal degradation of membrane proteins
Breakdown of every transmembrane protein trafficked to lysosomes requires proteolysis of their hydrophobic helical transmembrane domains. Combining lysosomal proteomics with functional genomic dataset...
science.org
Short but very fun visit to UNC Chapel Hill! Definitely one of the most beautiful college campuses.
Yesterday, the House passed an FY25 budget bill that slashes funding to the Pancreatic Cancer Research Program by 57%. Research for pancreatic cancer is already woefully underfunded, and now the only program exclusively funding pancreatic cancer research is one step closer to devastating cuts.
A beautiful thesis defense from Narges Pourmandi for CMB, Michigan Medicine. Back to the hospital next week to complete her medical training ❤️🙌🏼🩺 We are so proud of her many accomplishments! @YatrikShahLab
