Jason R. Cantor

The Cantor lab is jointly affiliated with the Morgridge Institute for Research and the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Environmental factors impact cell physiology and can also influence drug efficacy, but existing model systems used to study human cells have limitations for understanding these contributions. Our lab has broad interests in addressing this fundamental challenge in the context of human blood cancers and normal cellular components of the immune system. We apply a highly multidisciplinary approach that combines principles of biology and engineering across several distinct areas that include cancer metabolism, functional genomics, chemical genetics, and immunobiology.

Our primary goal is to apply innovative tools and concepts to understand how environmental factors influence both basic cell physiology and drug activity. By achieving this broad objective, our group hopes to: (I) uncover new targetable vulnerabilities in human cancers; and (II) leverage our findings to propose new cancer treatment strategies that incorporate either the direct modulation of environmental factors or the use of immunotherapies with improved efficacy.