Navdeep Chandel, PhD
Professor, Medicine, Pulmonary Division; Feinberg School of Medicine
Research Program
Link
Cancer-Focused Research
My research focuses on mitochondria beyond ATP generation function as signaling organelles to control biological responses. My laboratory has provided evidence Thus, mitochondria serve as signaling organelles. In the field of cancer, our work established that mitochondrial metabolism and ROS is necessary for tumorigenesis in vivo. Previously, the prevailing idea was that increased aerobic glycolysis (i.e. Warburg effect) was the dominant metabolic reprogramming event in cancer cells. This led to our current understanding that both aerobic glycolysis and mitochondrial metabolism are essential for tumor growth. Moreover, we found that the widely used anti-diabetic drug metformin has anti-tumor effects through inhibition of mitochondrial complex I within cancer cells. Until this finding, it was believed that metformin primarily exerts its anti-cancer effects by lowering insulin levels, a known mitogen for certain cancer cells.