Czyzyk-Krzeska Laboratory

Overview

Our lab investigates the mechanistic biology of carcinogenesis in renal cancer and develops prognostic tools that indicate kidney cancer cases that require aggressive therapy.  Discovery of mechanistic biology and delivery of prognostic tools enables holistic care for kidney cancer that balances quality of life and cutting-edge therapy for patients and their loved ones.

We focus on the most common type of renal cancer, clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). Histologically defined ccRCC is not a uniform disease, and different genetic, molecular and metabolic subtypes are described carrying various therapeutic vulnerabilities with consequences for personalized medicine. 

We work on two main fields of research: 

• Basic mechanistic research of oncogenic and tumor suppressing autophagy regulated by VHL tumor suppressor. Autophagy is a robustly regulated homeostatic process that maintains cellular quality control and provides nutrients during starvation. It has both oncogenic and tumor suppressing activities during cancer development.
• Translational research using systems biology and integrated omics approaches of human ccRCCs to identify subtypes of cancer, as well as prognostic and predictive classifiers that will guide personalized medicine treatments.