Tomer Shlomi, PhD
Project Title
Uncovering Metabolic Vulnerabilities and Drug Targets in Gastrointestinal Cancers through Multi-Omics Profiling
About the Investigator
Prof. Shlomi studies how cancer cells change the way they use nutrients and energy in order to survive and resist treatment, and how these metabolic changes can be targeted with new drugs. He has extensive expertise in cancer metabolism combined with advanced methods to rapidly test many potential treatments. He received his academic training at Tel Aviv University and completed postdoctoral training in cancer metabolism in the United States. He has since held appointments in both the Departments of Computer Science and Biology, combining innovative computational approaches with hands-on laboratory experiments to uncover new treatment strategies for cancer and improve outcomes for patients.
About the Research
Cancers of the gastrointestinal tract, like colon and liver cancers, are among the leading causes of serious illness and cancer-related death worldwide. Many patients experience limited benefit from current treatments, which often lose effectiveness over time as cancer cells adapt and become resistant. One key reason for this adaptability is that cancer cells change how they use nutrients and energy to survive treatment. While these changes help tumors persist, they can also create hidden weaknesses that may be exploited to stop cancer growth while sparing normal cells. As gastrointestinal cancers rely on similar adaptation mechanisms, the goal of this research is to uncover these shared metabolic weaknesses and identify drugs that can take advantage of them. We will test many potential drug-like compounds and carefully measure how key molecules inside the cancer cells respond when treated with each compound. This approach will allow us to learn how each promising drug works and which weaknesses it targets. The most effective treatments will then be tested in laboratory models made from patient tumors to evaluate whether they can safely slow tumor growth. By identifying new weaknesses in cancer cells and finding drugs that exploit them, this research aims to support the development of precise treatments that improve both survival and quality of life for patients with gastrointestinal cancers.
