Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry doctoral student Sumati Hasani received the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award F31 Fellowship from the National Cancer Institute.

The main goal of her doctoral research is to delineate the mechanism by which CRC cells capitalize on fatty acid uptake to stimulate mitochondrial fission processes, thus leading to activation of downstream tumorigenesis pathways and fatty acid metabolism. By exploring the crossroads between cancer signaling and metabolism, she hopes to obtain a mechanistic narrative that elucidates the implications of increased fatty acid metabolism as a tumor promoting factor in patients with poor prognosis.