PHILADELPHIA, PA — The Wistar Institute has named Katherine Aird, Ph.D., as professor and co-leader of the Molecular and Cellular Oncogenesis Program at the Ellen and Ronald Caplan Cancer Center, strengthening its focus on cancer metabolism research.
Aird’s work centers on how cancer cells use and exchange metabolites to drive growth, division, and resistance to treatment. Her research zeroes in on aggressive cancers such as melanoma and ovarian cancer, with the goal of identifying ways to therapeutically disrupt these metabolic processes and reduce tumor survival.
“Katherine brings powerful expertise in tumor metabolism to the deep well of cancer biology knowledge and biomedical research excellence that is our Ellen and Ronald Caplan Cancer Center,” said Dario Altieri, M.D., president and CEO of The Wistar Institute. He noted that Aird is returning to Wistar, where she trained as a postdoctoral fellow, and will also lead a new initiative on tumor metabolism.
The institute already has a strong foundation in metabolism studies, with scientists examining cancer’s nutrient use from multiple perspectives, including tumor microenvironment, microbiome interactions, immunology, autophagy, and lipid metabolism. Aird highlighted the collaborative environment, calling it “an incredibly exciting time to be a part of it at Wistar.”
Aird earned her undergraduate degree in biology from Johns Hopkins University and her Ph.D. from Duke University. She completed postdoctoral research under Dr. Rugang Zhang, moving with his lab from Fox Chase Cancer Center to Wistar in 2012. She later established her own lab at Penn State College of Medicine in 2016 after receiving an NCI Pathway to Independence Award and joined the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC Hillman Cancer Center in 2020 as an associate professor.
Her appointment marks a return to Wistar at a pivotal time, as the institute continues expanding its multidisciplinary approach to tackling cancer by bridging cancer biology, genetics, immunology, and virology with cutting-edge metabolism research.
For the latest news on everything happening in Chester County and the surrounding area, be sure to follow MyChesCo on Google News and MSN.