Ali Vaziri-Gohar

Ali Vaziri-Gohar, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Cancer Biology at Loyola University Chicago. His research focuses on metabolic dependencies in pancreatic cancer, particularly how tumor cells adapt to oxidative stress and nutrient limitations in the tumor microenvironment. He leads the Vaziri-Gohar Lab, which employs biochemistry, molecular biology, and mass spectrometry to develop novel targeted therapies.

• Education: BS in Biomedical Sciences (Shahid Beheshti University), MS in Biochemistry (Kerman University), PhD in Molecular Biology (New Mexico State University), Postdoctoral Fellowships at Thomas Jefferson University and Case Western Reserve University.

Research interests include metabolic vulnerabilities, redox homeostasis, and drug resistance mechanisms. His lab investigates how metabolic reprogramming enables tumor survival, with recent work highlighting IDH1 inhibitors and glucose/glutamine dependency as therapeutic targets. Key findings include the role of citrate transport in ferroptosis resistance and the synergy of ketogenic diets with metabolic inhibitors.

Publications span over 30 peer-reviewed articles, emphasizing pancreatic cancer metabolism, IDH1 signaling, and cancer-associated depression. The lab collaborates broadly, including with institutions like the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Thomas Jefferson University.