Mioara Larion, Ph.D.
- Center for Cancer Research
- National Cancer Institute
- Building 37, Roon 1136A
- Bethesda, MD 20892
- 240-760-6825
- 240-541-4466
- mioara.larion@nih.gov
RESEARCH SUMMARY
Dr. Larion is a trained biochemist who is interested in the metabolic needs of cancer cells and how they process nutrients to develop ways to target them and delay tumor growth. She utilizes a set of technologies, of which Raman Imaging Microscopy can quantify patterns in proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids levels at subcellular levels. This is a highly significant endeavor for glioma tumors that are known to exhibit high heterogeneity.
Dr. Larion’s lab is focused on identifying metabolic vulnerabilities in IDH1 mutated gliomas for clinical application as well as on developing technologies that enable these discoveries. Her lab has identified that lipid pathways are important for IDH1-mutant glioma growth and targeting specific enzymes from either fatty acid synthesis or sphingolipid pathway leads to specific cellular death in these cells. She is also interested in developing biomarkers to help image the disease progression and monitor the response to treatments.
Areas of Expertise
1) glioma, 2) metabolism, 3) raman spectroscopy, 4) lipids, 5) neuro-oncology
Mioara Larion, Ph.D.
Research
The overarching goal and drivers behind Dr. Larion’s research are to eventually observe the direct impact that cancer metabolomics can have on patient diagnosis, treatment and survival.
Since IDH mutations cause metabolic reprogramming, Dr. Larion’s research focuses on how this can be exploited for therapeutic development or imaging studies that aid earlier diagnosis of progression. Dr. Larion’s laboratory has identified that lipid pathways are important for IDH1-mutant glioma growth and targeting specific enzymes from either fatty acid synthesis or sphingolipid pathway leads to specific cellular death in these cells (see figure).
Intracellular proteins, lipids and nucleic acids can be quantified at the cellular and organelle level using Raman spectroscopy, which has been a significant contributing technology to this project. Capturing changes in these molecules has allowed a deeper understanding of the intrinsic vulnerabilities of IDH-mutant glioma cells and studying this disease from various angles which may result in better diagnostic, surgical and therapeutic benefits for patients. Dr. Larion hopes that her research will eventually lead to the creation of a “metabolomic map” for each patient outlining their nutrient availability, mutational profile, and metabolomic dependency possibly segregated by organelles using Raman spectroscopy.
Publications
IDH1 mutations induce organelle defects via dysregulated phospholipids.
Toward Single-Organelle Lipidomics in Live Cells.
Sphingolipid Pathway as a Source of Vulnerability in IDH1mut Glioma.
Metabolic Reprogramming Associated with Aggressiveness Occurs in the G-CIMP-High Molecular Subtypes of IDH1mut Lower Grade Gliomas
Magnetic resonance spectroscopy for the study of CNS malignancies.
Biography
Mioara Larion, Ph.D.
Dr. Larion is originally trained as a biochemist and biophysicist during both her Bachelor of Science degree in Romania, and her Master of Science and Ph.D. degree from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Florida State University. Her work during graduate school involved biophysics and enzymology. During this time, Dr. Larion developed a passion for learning enzymes function and how this can cause or exacerbate certain disease states. Shortly thereafter, she joined the Neuro-Oncology Branch at NIH as an Investigator and was introduced to the field of oncology, where she now leads the Cancer Metabolism Program.
Dr. Larion is also involved in a number of committees outside her research including serving as the Co-Chair of the first NCI-SNO Joint Symposium on Targeting CNS Tumor Metabolism, the Visiting Scholars Program at the Neuro-Oncology Branch, participating in NIH Grant Review Panels for metabolomics-related research, and organizer of the Metabolomics Association of North America Conference.
Honors, Awards and Leadership
- Organizer, 1st Metabolomics Association of North America - 2019
- 2018-2020 Performance Award
- Member of the “Precision Medicine Task Force”, Metabolomics Society – 2018 to present
- Member, NIH Review Panel for Metabolomics ZRG1 BST-X (50) – 2016
- Co-Chair, Visiting Scholars Program for Neuro-Oncology Branch – 2016 to present
- Co-Chair, 1st NCI-SNO Symposium on Targeting CNS Tumor Metabolism – 2020
- Chair of the NIH Cancer Metabolism Interest Group – 2021 to present
Select Societies and Initiatives
- American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
- Society of Neuro-Oncology (SNO)
- Biophysical Society
Job Vacancies
| Position | Degree Required | Contact Name | Contact Email |
|---|---|---|---|
| Post-doctoral Fellow - Brain tumors, lipid metabolism, cancer biology | Ph.D. or equivalent, M.D. or equivalent | Mioara Larion | mioara.larion@nih.gov |
Team
News
Targeting Cancer Metabolism to Improve Care and Treatment for People with Brain and Spine Tumors
March 25, 2021
How can we be innovative in our approach to research in order to improve outcomes for central nervous system tumors? That is the driving question and force behind our Cancer Metabolism Program, led by investigator Mioara Larion, Ph.D. Learn more...
Neuro-Oncology Branch 2020 Year in Review
January 22, 2021
The Neuro-Oncology Branch shares accomplishments made throughout 2020. Together, our clinical team, research laboratories, and staff have made meaningful advancements to improve outcomes for patients and their families impacted by brain and spine tumors. Learn more...