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Speaker
Elda Grabocka, PhD
Associate Professor
Departments of Pharmacology, Physiology and Cancer Biology & Surgery
Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson Health
“The Dynamic Life of Stress Granules: Linking Cell Cycle, Metabolism, and Pancreatic Cancer”
This seminar will cover our research into stress adaptation in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC). We start with findings on molecular drivers of stress granule (SG) formation and their role in PDAC tumor development. Our investigation then revealed that SG composition and function are not static, but dynamically shaped by cell state, particularly the cell cycle. We’ll present novel findings on this cell-cycle-dependent heterogeneity and its consequences for tumor cell fate. We also touch on how systemic factors, like those in the metabolic syndrome-tumor axis, affect SG biology and cellular stress in PDAC.Finally, we integrate these multi-level insights—from molecular SG mechanics to cell-state modulation and systemic impacts—to illustrate their convergence in pancreatic tumorigenesis. We aim to highlight emerging therapeutic opportunities, such as phase-specific SG targeting, and foster discussion on new anti-PDAC strategies based on our findings.