Jeanine Van Nostrand, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Van Nostrand was recruited to Baylor College of Medicine with the help of a CPRIT First-Time, Tenure-Track Faculty Members award. She earned her Ph.D. from Stanford University and was a postdoctoral fellow in cell and molecular biology at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.

Dr. Van Nostrand studies how cancer cells can manipulate their signaling pathways to allow them to grow in the absence of efficient energy production or the necessary growth signals. Her work centers around the AMP-activated Protein Kinase (AMPK), which acts like a sensor when energy is low in the cell or organism. AMPK can then function to turn on energy producing pathways while turning off energy consuming processes providing mechanisms for cells to arrest their growth when nutrients are limiting.  Pharmacological activation of AMPK using the anti-diabetic drug metformin has been associated in large epidemiological studies with a reduction in the risk for metabolically-linked cancers.

Read More

Jeanine Van Nostrand, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Van Nostrand was recruited to Baylor College of Medicine with the help of a CPRIT First-Time, Tenure-Track Faculty Members award. She earned her Ph.D. from Stanford University and was a postdoctoral fellow in cell and molecular biology at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.

Dr. Van Nostrand studies how cancer cells can manipulate their signaling pathways to allow them to grow in the absence of efficient energy production or the necessary growth signals. Her work centers around the AMP-activated Protein Kinase (AMPK), which acts like a sensor when energy is low in the cell or organism. AMPK can then function to turn on energy producing pathways while turning off energy consuming processes providing mechanisms for cells to arrest their growth when nutrients are limiting.  Pharmacological activation of AMPK using the anti-diabetic drug metformin has been associated in large epidemiological studies with a reduction in the risk for metabolically-linked cancers.

The high incidence and mortality rates of patients with liver cancer emphasize the necessity for both understanding the etiology of liver cancer and developing preventative therapeuticsDr. Van Nostrand is investigating the relationship between metabolic disease and liver cancer to understand how energy stress sensors contribute to liver cancer.  She uses novel mouse models to test whether genetic activation of AMPK can prevent liver cancer in diabetic mice. Her goal is to define the role of AMPK and AMPK activation in the development of liver cancer, which could define novel new therapeutic interventions for HCC prevention. Dr. Van Nostrand says the CPRIT award has afforded her the time and resources to begin a lab during the pandemic, which would have been almost impossible with a normal research startup.

Read Less