Matthew Vander Heiden

Matthew Vander Heiden

Lester Wolfe Professor of Molecular Biology; Director, Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research

Matthew Vander Heiden is interested in the role that cell metabolism plays in mammalian physiology, with a focus on cancer.

617-715-4471

Phone

76-561

Office

mvh@mit.edu

Email

Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research

Location

Lab Website
Peter Jansen

Assistant

617-252-1163

Assistant Phone

Education

  • PhD, 2000, University of Chicago; MD, 2002, University of Chicago
  • SB, 1994, Biological Chemistry, University of Chicago

Research Summary

We study the biochemical pathways cells use and how they are regulated to meet the metabolic requirements of cells in different physiological situations. We focus on the role of metabolism in cancer, particularly how metabolic pathways support cell proliferation. We aim to translate our understanding of cancer cell metabolism into novel cancer therapies.

Awards

  • National Academy of Medicine, 2024
  • Howard Hughes Medical Institute Faculty Scholar, 2016
  • SU2C Innovative Research Grant Recipient, 2016

Recent Publications

  1. Cancer cells differentially modulate mitochondrial respiration to alter redox state and enable biomass synthesis in nutrient-limited environments. Chang, SM, Bin Munim, M, Trojan, SE, Cox, H 3rd, Shevzov-Zebrun, A, Abbott, KL, Chang, R, Vander Heiden, MG. 2026. Elife 14, .
    doi: 10.7554/eLife.107123PMID:42981214
  2. DNA replication stress redistributes the histone methyltransferase G9a and activates lineage-specific gene expression. Oaks, GE, Do, BT, Jakubicka, EM, Cunniff, PJ, Ward, AP, Choplick, CM, Nelson, SA, Bauer, DE, Vander Heiden, MG. 2026. bioRxiv , .
    doi: 10.64898/2026.10.06.757090PMID:42926776
  3. Physiological folate levels constrain nucleotide synthesis and increase dependence on nucleotide salvage. Elbashir, R, Abbott, KL, Ramesh, DL, Ali, A, Shevzov-Zebrun, A, Barbeau, AM, Wu, M, Ward, AP, Gültekin, Y, Do, BT et al.. 2026. bioRxiv , .
    doi: 10.64898/2026.09.13.750663PMID:42779914
  4. Local signals, systemic decline. Gültekin, Y, Vander Heiden, MG. 2026. Science 393, 33-34.
    doi: 10.1126/science.aej0415PMID:42391391
  5. The Influence of Diet on Cancer Progression and Treatment. Barbeau, AM, Kincaid, JWR, Hillis, AL, Rashan, EH, Zhang, Y, Oaks, GE, Vander Heiden, MG. 2026. Annu Rev Nutr 46, 357-386.
    doi: 10.1146/annurev-nutr-062122-021518PMID:42190060
  6. Pancreatic cancer-associated organ dysfunction promotes muscle autophagy and contributes to peripheral tissue wasting. Gültekin, Y, Sivanand, S, Eghbalian, KM, Barbeau, AM, Abbott, KL, Eng, G, Tavernier, VL, Do, BT, Shin, H, Özçelik, E et al.. 2026. bioRxiv , .
    doi: 10.64898/2026.02.27.708635PMID:41808999
  7. Ribosome-associated quality control of aberrant protein production during amino acid limitation. Darnell, AM, Chidley, C, Paradise, V, Cui, DS, Davidsen, K, Lincoln, SC, Abbott, KL, Elbashir, R, Vander Heiden, CP, Sorger, PK et al.. 2026. bioRxiv , .
    doi: 10.64898/2026.01.14.699605PMID:41648215
  8. Nutrient requirements of organ-specific metastasis in breast cancer. Abbott, KL, Subudhi, S, Ferreira, R, Gültekin, Y, Steinbuch, SC, Munim, MB, Ramesh, DL, Honeder, SE, Kumar, AS, Wu, M et al.. 2026. Nature 649, 1292-1301.
    doi: 10.1038/s41586-025-09898-9PMID:41501456
  9. Cancer cells differentially modulate mitochondrial respiration to alter redox state and enable biomass synthesis in nutrient-limited environments. Chang, SM, Bin Munim, M, Trojan, SE, Shevzov-Zebrun, A, Abbott, KL, Vander Heiden, MG. 2025. bioRxiv , .
    doi: 10.1101/2025.05.09.653205PMID:40654753
  10. Sideroflexins enable mitochondrial transport of polar neutral amino acids. Block, S, Chi, F, Rosen, PC, Pineda, SS, Darnell, AM, Abbott, KL, Pena, IA, Heiman, M, Yilmaz, ÖH, Kory, N et al.. 2025. bioRxiv , .
    doi: 10.1101/2025.06.18.660357PMID:40631095
More Publications

Multimedia