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UID:0-8349@eng.ufl.edu
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260401T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260401T160000
DTSTAMP:20260313T205547Z
URL:https://www.eng.ufl.edu/news-events/events/bme-seminar-nature-vs-nurtu
 re-decoding-genetic-and-environmental-contributions-to-human-cell-fitness/
SUMMARY:BME Seminar: "Nature vs. Nurture: Decoding genetic and environmenta
 l contributions to human cell fitness"
DESCRIPTION:Jason Cantor\, Ph.D.\nInvestigator\, Morgridge Institute for Re
 search\; \nAssistant Professor\,\nUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison\n\nAbstr
 act: Cell behavior is shaped by an interplay of intrinsic and extrinsic fa
 ctors\, yet most human cell studies rely on model systems that fail to fai
 thfully reflect metabolic conditions within the human body. This discrepan
 cy not only compromises physiologic relevance but also effectively creates
  “metabolic blind spots” in our understanding of fundamental cell biol
 ogy and drug efficacy. My research program leverages bioengineered environ
 ments to address this modeling gap. By using more physiologic systems\, we
  provide a mechanistic lens to reveal biological insights that are often m
 asked or overlooked in standard models. \n \nThis talk will describe the s
 ystematic development and application of human plasma-like medium (HPLM) a
 nd how this physiologic “soil” of cell culture can reveal hidden insig
 hts into metabolic regulation\, gene essentiality\, and drug sensitivity. 
 In addition\, I will present ongoing work using our new bioreactor platfor
 m for continuous-flow culture at metabolic steady state. By studying cell 
 behavior under these tightly controlled “circulation-like” conditions\
 , we aim to generate unique views of blood cancers and immunity with unpre
 cedented control and relevance to human physiology. Ultimately\, these pla
 tforms enable us to advance current knowledge of human health and disease 
 by considering the critical role of the metabolic environment in cell fitn
 ess. \n\nBio: Jason Cantor currently holds dual appointments as an Investi
 gator at the Morgridge Institute for Research and as an Assistant Professo
 r at the University of Wisconsin-Madison\, with memberships in the Univers
 ity of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center and the Wisconsin Blood Cancer Rese
 arch Institute. Dr. Cantor leads a multidisciplinary research group that e
 mploys bioengineered models to elucidate genetic and environmental determi
 nants of cell fitness in cancer and immunity. By bridging the gap between 
 traditional models and physiologic reality\, his group provides the scient
 ific community with a more accurate lens for studying human health and dis
 ease. Work from the Cantor laboratory has demonstrated the profound impact
  of nutrient conditions on genetic dependencies and drug sensitivity in hu
 man cancer cells\, uncovering conditionally essential roles for specific p
 roteins and new insights into anticancer mechanisms of drug action.\n \nJa
 son earned his B.S. magna cum laude in Chemical Engineering from Cornell U
 niversity before completing his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Uni
 versity of Texas at Austin\, where his research focused on protein enginee
 ring strategies to reduce the immunogenicity of enzymes for cancer therapy
 . He then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Whitehead Institute/M
 IT\, where he developed human plasma-like medium (HPLM)\, now globally dis
 tributed by Thermo Fisher Scientific. Dr. Cantor has received numerous hon
 ors\, including the NIH-NIGMS MIRA R35 Investigator Award\, the NIH-NCI K2
 2 Career Transition Award\, the American Cancer Society Research Scholar G
 rant\, the Hartwell Foundation Individual Biomedical Research Award\, and 
 the American Cancer Society Discovery Boost Grant\; he was also a Finalist
  for the Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award.
CATEGORIES:Seminars
LOCATION:Biomedical Sciences Building (BMS) Room JG32\, 1275 Center Drive\,
  Gainesville\, FL\, 32610\, United States
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=1275 Center Drive\, Gainesv
 ille\, FL\, 32610\, United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Biomedical Sc
 iences Building (BMS) Room JG32:geo:0,0
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