Research Projects

This proposal aims to understand the regulation of lipin-1 activity and its role in mitotic regulation and tumorigenesis. Lipin proteins are targets of the PI3K-AKT-mTOR pathway and are regulated by their phosphorylation-dephosphorylation status, which affects their localization, enzymatic, and transcriptional activities. They are known to promote adipocyte differentiation in adipose tissues. The polyoma virus small T antigen interacts with lipin proteins in mammalian cells, impacting their dephosphorylation, localization, and activity through protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A). The project aims to identify kinase(s) and phosphatase(s) that play a critical role in regulating lipin-1 activity during mitotic progression and understand their mechanism of action. The study will also investigate how lipin-1 expression is affected during tumorigenesis, particularly in endometrial cancer. The overarching goal is to understand whether lipin-1 plays a critical role in connecting lipid metabolism to the occurrence and growth of PI3 kinase-mTOR pathway-driven cancers, particularly endometrial cancer.