Joe Longo

Congrats to Dr. Russell Jones for being named to this year’s @clarivate.com Highly Cited Researchers list — a distinction marking him as a leader in his field.

Read more: vai.org/hcr-2025
#HighlyCited2025 @clarivateag.bsky.social

Welcome to VAI, @jdlicht.bsky.social!

🪰Finally our study is in print — and we’re thrilled to see it featured on the cover of @natmetabolism.nature.com ! 🎉 #Drosophila #DevBio

Congratulations to the 7 recipients of the CRS’ 2025 Next Generation of Scientists Awards! They represent the future of cancer research in Canada.

🔬 Learn more: loom.ly/K8h1z4E

#Cancer #Research #NextGenerationOfScientistsAwards

Nutrient allocation fuels T cell-mediated immunity Glucose has traditionally been considered the primary fuel for T cells. Longo et al. present evidence for a revised, “nutrient allocation” model, in which effector T cells channel diverse nutrient sources into specific metabolic pathways to fuel T cell-mediated immunity.

Online now: Nutrient allocation fuels T cell-mediated immunity

It's National Postdoc Appreciation Week! We are proud to recognize our stellar postdocs, whose curiosity and dedication help drive our mission to improve health and enhance lives. Thank you for your outstanding work! 💙 #NPAW2025
www.vai.org/research/pos...

Rewiring of cortical glucose metabolism fuels human brain cancer growth - Nature The cortex fuels essential physiological processes with glucose-derived carbon, while gliomas fuel their aggressiveness by rerouting glucose carbon pathways and scavenging alternative carbon sources s...

Rewiring of cortical glucose metabolism fuels human brain cancer growth

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Congrats to the many involved, including @lyssiotislab.bsky.social and @dnagrathlab.bsky.social

‘Sweet’ discovery reveals how glucose fuels cancer-fighting immune cells – Van Andel Institute Read about ‘Sweet’ discovery reveals how glucose fuels cancer-fighting immune cells on Van Andel Institute – Stay updated on the latest research and groundbreaking discoveries in science and health.

A new study, led by VAI’s Dr. Russell Jones and published in @cp-cellmetabolism.bsky.social, reveals that glucose, long known as a vital fuel for immune cells, also plays a key role in helping cancer-fighting T cells communicate and function effectively. www.vai.org/article/swee...

What’s next in metabolism research? – Van Andel Institute Read about What’s next in metabolism research? on Van Andel Institute – Stay updated on the latest research and groundbreaking discoveries in science and health.

What’s next in metabolism research? VAI’s Metabolism and Nutrition (MeNu) Program recently asked top experts to forecast their bold ideas. Read about six areas they said are primed for discovery: www.vai.org/article/what...

Resolving early embryonic metabolism in Drosophila through single-embryo metabolomics and transcriptomics Nature Metabolism - By developing a method for single-embryo multi-omics in Drosophila, the authors provide a high-resolution view into the transcriptional and metabolic underpinnings of early...

🚀 Our new study is out in Nature Metabolism!
We used single-embryo metabolomics and transcriptomics to map the earliest metabolic transitions in Drosophila development, including the onset of zygotic metabolism.
Explore the dataset & findings:
🔗 rdcu.be/eAH12

#DevBio #metabolomics #Drosophila

📢Last weeks #immunometabolism discoveries
@biomednews.bsky.social ⬇️⬇️⬇️

biomed.news/bims-imicid/...

Highlights:

I) Glucose-dependent glycosphingolipid biosynthesis fuels CD8+ T cell function and tumor control - cell.com/cell-metabol...

Glucose-dependent glycosphingolipid biosynthesis fuels CD8+ T cell function and tumor control Glucose is required for T cell proliferation and function, but its key metabolic fates in vivo are not well defined. Longo et al. demonstrate that in CD8+ effector T cells, glucose metabolism extends ...

Glucose-dependent glycosphingolipid biosynthesis fuels CD8+ T cell function and tumor control: Cell Metabolism www.cell.com/cell-metabol...

Glucose-dependent glycosphingolipid biosynthesis fuels CD8+ T cell function and tumor control Glucose is required for T cell proliferation and function, but its key metabolic fates in vivo are not well defined. Longo et al. demonstrate that in CD8+ effector T cells, glucose metabolism extends beyond energy production by fueling glycosphingolipid biosynthesis, a pathway critical for T cell expansion and cytotoxic function.

Online now: Glucose-dependent glycosphingolipid biosynthesis fuels CD8+ T cell function and tumor control

Glucose-dependent glycosphingolipid biosynthesis fuels CD8+ T cell function and tumor control
@cp-cellmetabolism.bsky.social @drrgjoneslab.bsky.social
www.cell.com/cell-metabol...

I'm delighted to share that this story is now published in Cell Metabolism @cp-cellmetabolism.bsky.social - Glucose-dependent glycosphingolipid biosynthesis fuels CD8+ T cell function and tumor control: www.cell.com/cell-metabol...

ACLY inhibition promotes tumour immunity and suppresses liver cancer - Nature Using metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis-driven hepatocellular carcinoma mouse models, an ATP citrate lyase inhibitor reduces tumour burden and enhances efficacy of current standards of ...

Targeting tumour metabolism through ATP citrate lyase can rewire immune function and suppress #cancer progression in #MASH #HCC www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The source of dietary fat influences anti-tumour immunity in obese mice - Nature Metabolism This study shows that animal-based high-fat diets accelerate tumour growth and impair anti-tumour response to melanoma in obese mice, whereas plant-based high-fat diets do not.

This was a labor of love requiring lots of teamwork over years, repeating in 3 locations! Thanks to all the lab over the years, giving their time generously to this team project, & our wonderful collaborators. The source of fat matters for anti-tumor immunity 🐄🐖🧈🌴🫒🥥
www.nature.com/articles/s42...

The source of dietary fat influences anti-tumour immunity in obese mice - Nature Metabolism This study shows that animal-based high-fat diets accelerate tumour growth and impair anti-tumour response to melanoma in obese mice, whereas plant-based high-fat diets do not.

Preclinical data reveal that dietary fat sources differentially regulate natural killer and CD8 T cell infiltration and function within the tumour microenvironment, governed by distinct effects on the plasma metabolome and intracellular metabolism. www.nature.com/articles/s42...

Super excited to share my final postdoc paper from Rabinowitz lab- on how whole-body and tissue metabolism changes in viral infection!
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40581045/

The prostacyclin receptor PTGIR is a NRF2-dependent regulator of CD8+ T cell exhaustion @natimmunol.nature.com @drrgjoneslab.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

2025 Midwest Metabolism Meeting Join us for 2025 Midwest Metabolism Meeting at Van Andel Institute Stay informed about exciting upcoming events and activities.

Sign up for midwest metabolism & Trimad joint meeting! Abstracts are due 9/2/25. The vast majority of talks will come from the abstracts - great opportunity for trainees! www.vai.org/event/2025-m...

1/For over a decade, we’ve been studying tumor metabolism in patients with non-small cell lung cancer

This long-term commitment allowed us to connect tumor metabolic features to patient outcomes

We found that 13C glucose contribution to the TCA cycle predicts overall survival in NSCLC

YouTube video by Association of American Universities Facilities and Administrative (F&A) Costs Explainer

Make sure you, your trainees, and anyone else who might listen to you understands what "indirects" actually are, how they are established, and what Universities contribute. H/T @rodallab.bsky.social

Please share widely!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxTD...

YouTube video by UHN Research Meet Dr. Linda Penn: decoding the master cancer regulator

On this Women in Science Day, get inspired by our leading female scientist 🌟Dr. Linda Penn🌟

Dr. Penn has been at the forefront of cancer research, investigating MYC, a powerful oncoprotein/oncogene linked to more than 50 per cent of human cancers.

youtu.be/BtjxySIjwLI

Cutting NIH funds hurts all Americans.

Why? Three main reasons:

#1: These funds support a huge industry in all states. For every $1 of NIH funding generated, there is a short-term return of ~$2.46 in economic activity. $4B in cuts will take away $10B from the economy.

Redirecting glucose flux during in vitro expansion generates epigenetically and metabolically superior T cells for cancer immunotherapy T cell therapies for cancer currently rely on extensive in vitro expansion in hypermetabolic conditions. Frisch et al. demonstrate that T cells grown in vitro perform extensive aerobic glycolysis. Rer...

I'm delighted to share a new story from our lab published today at @cp-cellmetabolism.bsky.social! In it, we describe how cellular therapies for cancer can be metabolically and epigenetically enhanced by redirecting how glucose is utilized during in vitro expansion. 1/ www.cell.com/cell-metabol...

TRIM28-dependent developmental heterogeneity determines cancer susceptibility through distinct epigenetic states - Nature Cancer Panzeri et al. use a Trim28+/D9 mouse model with intrinsic developmental heterogeneity to show that ‘heavy’ and ‘light’ developmental morphs exhibit different timing, type and severity of cancer, link...

Online now!

TRIM28-dependent developmental heterogeneity determines cancer susceptibility through distinct epigenetic states

🖊️by Ilaria Panzeri & John Andrew Pospisilik and colleagues
@ilariapanzeri.bsky.social @andrewpospisilik.bsky.social

👇
www.nature.com/articles/s43...

Thanks for putting these together! I would love to be added.

Classification of non-TCGA cancer samples to TCGA molecular subtypes using compact feature sets Ellrott et al. provide a means to assign patient samples from clinical trials and other cancer genome studies to published TCGA molecular subtypes. Applying machine learning to data from five different molecular platforms for 8,791 TCGA tumor samples, they contribute a public resource of 737 top classifier models, which can form the foundation for clinical assay development.

Thrilled to share the results in Cancer Cell of years of hard work to develop classifiers for all major TCGA cancer subtypes, enabling assessment of differential drug response among cancer subtypes in clinical trials. www.cell.com/cancer-cell/...