Luke V. Loftus

Drug-tolerant persister cells reallocate carbon sources to fuel antioxidant metabolism for survival

This study identifies metabolic shifts in drug-tolerant persister cells that support antioxidant metabolism, offering new targets to overcome therapy resistance.

Dysregulation of cellular iron predisposes chemotherapy resistant cancer cells to ferroptosis

The paper shows chemoresistant cancer cells are vulnerable to ferroptosis due to iron dysregulation, despite varying ferroptosis sensitivity in untreated cells.

Oncogenic signaling in the adult Drosophila prostate-like accessory gland leads to activation of a conserved pro-tumorigenic program, in the absence of proliferation.

This study shows that oncogenic signaling in adult Drosophila accessory glands activates a pro-tumorigenic program without proliferation, leading to tissue hyperplasia and aneuploidy through endoreduplication.

Enhancer-AAVs allow genetic access to oligodendrocytes and diverse populations of astrocytes across species

The paper develops AAV-based genetic tools to specifically target astrocytes and oligodendrocytes across species, revealing functional roles in reward-dependent acetylcholine responses.

Functional enhancer elements drive subclass-selective expression from mouse to primate neocortex

The paper identifies enhancer elements that drive subclass-specific gene expression in neocortex across mouse, primate, and human species using comparative epigenetics and AAV-based functional assays.