معرفی
Sarah-Maria Fendt is a Professor of Oncology at KU Leuven and Principal Investigator at the VIB Center for Cancer Biology. She serves as Head of the Laboratory of Cellular Metabolism and Metabolic Regulation and holds multiple leadership positions including membership in the Council of the Faculty of Medicine, the Council of the Department of Oncology, and the Research Council.
Her primary research focuses on understanding the role of metabolism in driving cancer metastasis formation and defining metabolic regulation principles that enable cancer cell plasticity and heterogeneity. Dr. Fendt's lab applies cutting-edge single cell and spatial multi-omics technologies to study the interplay between cancer cells and their metabolic environment using pre-clinical mouse models and patient samples. Her research is funded by multiple national and international grants, including recent projects on metabolic vulnerabilities in acute myeloid leukemia, single-cell resolution in mass spectrometry imaging, and metabolic changes in metastatic liver.
Dr. Fendt's publication record demonstrates significant contributions to cancer metabolism research, with recent articles in top journals including Nature, Nature Cancer, and Cell Reports. Her work reveals how metabolic adaptations drive metastasis through mechanisms including aspartate signaling, lipid metabolism, and metabolite-induced immune suppression. She has established herself as a leader in translating metabolic discoveries into potential therapeutic approaches.
- EMBO Gold Medal (2020)
- EMBO member (since 2022)
- Francqui-Collen prize (2023)
- 51st Léopold Griffuel award (2023)
- AACR award for Outstanding Achievement in Basic Cancer Research (2024)
Dr. Fendt actively mentors the next generation of cancer researchers, with several students and postdocs presenting their work at international conferences. She recently completed a sabbatical at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Australia working with Mark Dawson's laboratory. Her lab is a member of multiple research centers including the VIB-KU Leuven Center for Cancer Biology, LISCO (KU Leuven Institute for Single Cell Omics), and LKI (KU Leuven Cancer Institute).
