معرفی
Dr. Esther Zaal serves as an Assistant Professor at Utrecht University's Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Biomolecular Health Sciences, specializing in Cell Biology, Metabolism & Cancer. Her research focuses on the intersection of cellular metabolism and disease mechanisms, particularly in cancer and immunological contexts.
Her research interests center on cancer metabolism, with particular emphasis on metabolic reprogramming in malignancies such as multiple myeloma. Dr. Zaal investigates how metabolic pathways influence drug resistance mechanisms and tumor progression. Her work spans immunometabolism, examining how metabolic processes regulate immune cell function, particularly T cells and dendritic cells. She also explores metabolic vulnerabilities in cancer that could serve as therapeutic targets, with significant work on nucleotide synthesis, amino acid metabolism, and lipid metabolism in tumor cells.
Analysis of Dr. Zaal's recent publications reveals a consistent focus on metabolic adaptations in disease states. Her work demonstrates how metabolic rewiring occurs in cancer cells to resist therapeutic interventions and how similar processes affect immune cell function in inflammatory conditions. The research shows particular strength in metabolomics approaches and stable isotope tracing techniques to map metabolic fluxes in various disease models.
Dr. Zaal actively supervises research projects and collaborates extensively with the Berkers laboratory and other research groups at Utrecht University. Her work bridges basic metabolic research with potential clinical applications, particularly in developing strategies to overcome drug resistance in cancer treatment.
She maintains laboratory facilities focused on metabolomics and cell biology research, utilizing patient-derived organoids, cell culture models, and advanced mass spectrometry techniques to investigate metabolic pathways in health and disease.
