On June 14, 2023, we were pleased to host Professor Qunying Lei from Fudan University, at the Shenzhen University Lihu Campus. Professor Lei was invited by Professor Baohua Liu from the School of Basic Medical Science of Shenzhen University Medical School, to help mark the 40th-anniversary celebration of Shenzhen University. Professor Lei delivered an inspiring lecture titled “Plasticity of nutrition and cell metabolism”. This lecture marked the 997th event of the anniversary celebrations, and the 77th lecture of the Shenzhen University Medicine Forum.

In her lecture, we learned that cancer cells obtain the capability to rewire a metabolic pathway such that they can produce energy and indispensable biomass to sustain their uncontrolled proliferation upon exposure to various stressful stimuli. Specifically, it is the breakdown of amino acids that provides the carbon and nitrogen source as an energy supplement and enables redox protection and cellular component synthesis by cancer cells. Professor Lei drew specific attention to pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), in which Ala, Pro, Gln, Asp, Ser and BCAT2-mediated branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) metabolism, has been attributed to malignant progression. Through her lecture, Professor Lei highlighted her major research findings in this area, including: How the BCAA- branched-chain keto acids axis regulates white adipose tissue browning through the acetylation of PRDM16; and how BCAT2-mediated BCAA catabolism is critical for the development of PDAC harboring KRAS mutations. We learned how her delineation of these mechanistic pathways open up opportunities to identify novel PDAC treatments and precise dietary interventions based on BCAA. An active Q&A session followed this lecture, with Professor Lei providing a detailed yet engaging and lively discussion.

Brief introduction of the Speaker

Professor Qunying Lei is the Director of the School of Basic Medical Sciences at Fudan University. Professor Lei obtained her Ph.D. from the Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University and completed her postdoctoral research at the University of California, Los Angeles. Her primary research focus is on nutrition and tumor metabolism. In this field, Professor Lei has undertaken multiple national and provincial projects, with funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China Innovative Research Group Project, National Natural Science Foundation of China Major Project, Key Project, Ministry of Science and Technology National Key Basic Research Program, and Shanghai Municipal Education Commission Key Project. She has published around 60 papers in top-tier journals including Cancer Cell, Cell Metabolism, Molecular Cell, Nature Cell Biology, Nature Metabolism, National Science Review, Nature Communications, and the Journal of Clinical Investigation.