Expertise
My current research undertakings feed off my original niche and centers on cancer metabolomics. It broadly explores activity-directed discovery of novel inhibitors sourced from natural products as a possible anti-cancer strategy. My lab screens, isolates, and elucidates bioactive components in natural products' extracts with the potential to inhibit metabolic targets that are prominent in recalcitrant cancer cell lines. The hypothesis is that targeting an indispensable metabolic pathway will impair the survival/adaptive mechanism employed by cancer cells to develop drug resistance, and consequently improve treatment efficacy. The short-term goal of this research is the identification of a cocktail of druggable candidates for further research and development. The long-term projection of this basic research is a translational and clinical application, involving mechanistic modeling of diseases, drug discovery, design, and development.
As a teacher, in designing my course, I incorporate some aspects of my research in a way that students can picture the real-world applications of whatever knowledge I am passing across in the classroom. I have learned that students learn best when they are engaged in tasks that are similar to the work of professionals within their discipline. Students find this experience satisfying because it makes them feel like a part of the solutions to societal problems. In my philosophical view, out-of-the-class education is a perfect complement to classroom learning.