John G. Albeck
University of California-Davis, CA·Biology
Glycolysis is the process by which cells break glucose down into lactate. It sits at the heart of diabetes, metabolic disease, cancer and immune function.
- Fields
Biology
Biochemistry
Biophysics
- Topics
glycolysis
single-cell metabolism
cell-to-cell variability
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Feb 2031
What they work on
- Use multiplexed live-cell sensors to constrain mathematical models of how glycolysis rates vary across single cells, and identify the smallest, most informative set of measurements.
- Test whether paired live-cell measurements of FBP, a glycolysis intermediate, and the NADH/NAD+ ratio can estimate each cell's glucose uptake and lactate production in epithelial, muscle and liver cells.
- Measure how glycolysis and protein synthesis rates are linked in single cells through activity of the signaling enzymes AKT, AMPK and mTOR.
- Build an integrated computational model of glycolytic flux and its signaling-network control, to predict effects of drugs targeting PI3K, AKT, mTOR and AMPK.
More about the research
Glycolysis has been modeled mathematically for decades, but almost always in bulk, averaging over millions of cells. Because of this, no one knows whether every cell in a tissue uses sugar at a similar rate, or whether small groups of cells do most of the work. This project asks how glycolysis varies from one cell to the next and what that variation means for cell growth, death and specialization.
Why it matters
Many drugs that act on the PI3K, AKT, mTOR and AMPK signaling pathways already exist. Models that predict how such drugs change sugar use in individual cells and tissues could aid treatment development for diabetes, aging and other metabolic disorders. Understanding how cell-to-cell differences in metabolism affect cell health could also inform how drugs work in cancer and other diseases.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Daniel Amador-Noguez
University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI·Microbiology & Immunology
Test whether alcohol dehydrogenase (AdhE) activity raises the NADH/NAD+ ratio enough to block glycolysis in Clostridium thermocellum, using metabolomics, isotope tracing of labeled sugars, and targeted genetic knockouts.
Ryan Hanson
South Dakota State University, SD·Biology
Test whether the length of time JNK, a stress-activated kinase, stays at mitochondria decides mitochondrial damage, reactive oxygen species production and cell death, using optogenetic tools to control JNK's location over time.
Savas Tay
University of Chicago, IL·Biomedical Engineering
Determine how sentinel cells encode information about pathogens and stress in cytokine dynamics, including memory of prior stimuli and causes of cytokine overproduction, using single-cell secretion assays and live-cell analysis.
The school
University of California-Davis: 49 labs on PI Pages, $1.0B a year on research, 647 research doctorates a year.
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