Katherine Aird

Katherine Aird

@airdlab.bsky.social

My lab studies the interplay between cancer metabolism and cell cycle dysregulation. Professor at The Wistar Institute airdlab.com

2.6K followers1.4K following94 posts

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Katherine Aird
@airdlab.bsky.social

The lab is expanding and hiring both a postdoc and staff scientist! See more on our website: airdlab.com. We study how metabolism and cell cycle states drive tumor progression, therapy response, and immune interactions. Candidates interested in mechanistic cancer biology are encouraged to apply.

airdlab.comAird Lab
Katherine Aird
@airdlab.bsky.social

Thrilled to see our work on senescence & metastasis out! We found that chemotherapy increases ovarian cancer metastasis in a paracrine manner via fructose. Dietary fructose is sufficient to increase metastatis. This work has multiple implications related to both chemo and diet.

Nature Aging@nataging.nature.com

Online now!✨Cole et al identify fructose as a component of the therapy-induced SASP in senescent ovarian cancer cells and show that it reprograms cancer cells in paracrine, promoting detachment and metastasis @airdlab.bsky.social @wistar.org

nature.comThe chemotherapy-induced senescence-associated secretome promotes cell detachment and metastatic dissemination through metabolic reprogramming - Nature AgingCole and colleagues identify fructose as a component of the secretome in therapy-induced senescent ovarian cancer cells that drives metastasis. Fructose metabolically reprograms neighboring cancer cel...
Katherine Aird
@airdlab.bsky.social

Huge congratulations to first author Aidan Cole. He is brilliant, an awesome person, and currently looking for an industry position. Reach out if you have any leads- he’ll be the best colleague!

Katherine Aird reposted

Andrea Andress Huacachino, PhD
@chemistandrea.bsky.social

Amazing work from @airdlab.bsky.social and @mzspectrum.bsky.social Labs led by insanely talented Apporva Uboveja! Very grateful to play a small part in this impactful work.

Katherine Aird@airdlab.bsky.social

It's time to rewrite reviews-aKG doesn't just regulate demethylation. Work from my lab and @mzspectrum.bsky.social demonstrates a new role for aKG in promoting histone acetylation and DNA repair through regulating carnitine synthesis. Congrats Apoorva Uboveja! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

nature.comαKG-mediated carnitine synthesis drives DNA repair via histone acetylation - NatureThe metabolite αKG promotes carnitine synthesis and increases site-specific histone acetylation, thereby promoting homologous recombination-mediated DNA repair, which has potential implications f...
Katherine Aird
@airdlab.bsky.social

The lab is expanding and hiring both a postdoc and staff scientist! See more on our website: airdlab.com. We study how metabolism and cell cycle states drive tumor progression, therapy response, and immune interactions. Candidates interested in mechanistic cancer biology are encouraged to apply.

airdlab.comAird Lab
Katherine Aird
@airdlab.bsky.social

We are well-funded and have a strong track record of publications (including a recently accepted paper in Nature), trainee funding, and supporting the career goals of all lab members. There are also opportunities for co-mentorship!

Katherine Aird
@airdlab.bsky.social

We strongly support both the scientific & professional development of all trainees. There are opportunities to expand into new areas for those looking to transition to independence.

Katherine Aird
@airdlab.bsky.social

In the second, we discovered that cisplatin drives ovarian cancer metastasis through a metabolic cross-talk between senescent cancer cells with non-senescent cancer cells. We identified fructose as the upstream driver of this phenotype. First author Dr. Cole just defended!

Katherine Aird
@airdlab.bsky.social

Our preprint by @raquelbuj.bsky.social was highlighted! What a cool idea to give early career scientists the opportunity to practice peer review skills! See the updated preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1....

biorxiv.orgCDKN2ALow cancer cells outcompete macrophages for microenvironmental zinc to drive immunotherapy resistanceApproximately 50% of cancers exhibit decreased CDKN2A expression ( CDKN2A Low), which is linked to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) resistance. While CDKN2A is traditionally recognized as a tumor supp...
Nature Reviews Immunology@natrevimmunol.nature.com

Robbie Jin & Tracy McGaha discuss a study from @raquelbuj.bsky.social @airdlab.bsky.social reporting that Cdkn2alow tumours impair macrophage phagocytosis by depriving them of zinc

nature.comCDKN2Alow tumours mediate immunotherapy resistance by depriving macrophages of zinc - Nature Reviews ImmunologyA preprint by Buj et al. reports that Cdkn2alow tumour cells upregulate plasma membrane expression of the zinc importer SLC39A9, which deprives macrophages of zinc and impairs their phagocytic capacit...

Katherine Aird reposted

Jeremy Berg
@jeremymberg.bsky.social

Bluetorial: The rationale for the “NIH” indirect cost “plan” is based on misunderstood (unintentional or intentional) accounting and math The value of real government transparency

Katherine Aird reposted

Stephen Floor
@snf.bsky.social

not paying indirect costs for research is like only paying the players in the Super Bowl. can't have a Super Bowl without coaches, referees, security, janitors, announcers, stadium staff, and a stadium - and you can't have research without supporting people and facilities

Katherine Aird
@airdlab.bsky.social

Cutting NIH funds hurts all Americans. Why? Three main reasons: #1: These funds support a huge industry in all states. For every $1 of NIH funding generated, there is a short-term return of ~$2.46 in economic activity. $4B in cuts will take away $10B from the economy.

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Katherine Aird
@airdlab.bsky.social

Governmental support for research is a requirement for the health of our economy and citizens. If these cuts are not immediately reversed, there will be dire consequences for our country.

Katherine Aird
@airdlab.bsky.social

Cutting NIH funds hurts all Americans. Why? Three main reasons: #1: These funds support a huge industry in all states. For every $1 of NIH funding generated, there is a short-term return of ~$2.46 in economic activity. $4B in cuts will take away $10B from the economy.

Katherine Aird
@airdlab.bsky.social

#2: The biomedical research endeavor employs >300,000 workers, including janitorial and maintenance staff, admins and IT staff.. These cuts will cause many people to lose their jobs. This isn’t just in coastal elite cites. Big universities are often the major employer in many US cities.

Katherine Aird
@airdlab.bsky.social

#3: The NIH funds research to understand diseases such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, among others. Cutting NIH funds will delay treatments and cures for these diseases, which will impact Americans for generations.

Katherine Aird
@airdlab.bsky.social

Want a cliffsnote version of amazing cancer discoveries from 2024? Check out the Dec issue of Cancer Discovery. It was hard to pick just 1 paper to highlight!

Itai Yanai@itaiyanai.bsky.social

What were the most inspiring 2024 discoveries in cancer? Cancer Discovery asked me, Katherine Aird, Aadel Chaudhuri, Jennifer Guerriero, Shiri Gur-Cohen, Benjamin Izar, Brittany Jenkins, Delphine Merino, Alejo Rodriguez-Fraticelli & Shensi Shen, & here's what we said aacrjournals.org/cancerdiscov...

Katherine Aird
@airdlab.bsky.social

Do you want to read about what it’s like to be a mid- or senior career female scientist? Read this. The sexism and misogyny absolutely gets worse the higher you go.

This post is unavailable.

Katherine Aird reposted

Christian Frezza
@frezzalab.bsky.social

Dietary Restriction Enhances CD8⁺ T Cell Ketolysis to Limit Exhaustion and Boost Anti-Tumor Immunity 🧪 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

biorxiv.orgDietary Restriction Enhances CD8⁺ T Cell Ketolysis to Limit Exhaustion and Boost Anti-Tumor ImmunityReducing calorie intake without malnutrition limits tumor progression but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Here we show that dietary restriction (DR) suppresses tumor growth by enhanci...
Katherine Aird
@airdlab.bsky.social

It’s my lab’s 8th birthday today. I am overwhelmed with gratitude to be able to do this job, mentor my trainees (currently killing it 🤩), and interact with the smartest colleagues and collaborators one could ask for. Mid-career hasn’t been easy, and I’m thankful to still be making cool discoveries.