Zachary Watson, PhD
University of Colorado Denver
Aurora, CO
The influence of bone marrow-derived adipocytes on pro-tumor signaling and lipid metabolism in ovarian cancer
Dr. Watson is investigating a potential driver of ovarian cancer development to lay the foundation for discovering new early detection and treatment strategies. Ovarian cancer spreads aggressively into abdominal fat deposits, which often increase after menopause. He found that a type of abdominal fat cell called bone marrow-derived adipocytes (BMDAs) are inflammatory and make ovarian cancer cells grow faster. He will test the hypothesis that BMDAs send signals to cancer cells to turn off tumor suppressor proteins, change their metabolism, and make the cancer cells more aggressive. The results may help inform the development of new treatments, particularly for postmenopausal women who often have worse disease.