Mücahit Varlı

My Ph.D. thesis, titled "Deciphering the Role of KITENIN in Colorectal Cancer Metabolism and Novel Drug Discovery", was completed in February 2024 under the supervision of Prof. Hangun Kim at Sunchon National University (SCNU). Primarily my research focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying cancer progression, with a special emphasis on cancer metabolism. I am particularly interested in how metabolic pathways such as glucose utilization, the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, and tryptophan metabolism are reprogrammed in cancer cells to support rapid growth, survival, motility and stemness potential. During my doctoral and postdoctoral studies in SCNU, I investigated how dysregulation in these pathways contributes to colorectal cancer development, with the aim of identifying novel metabolic vulnerabilities. Currently, as a postdoctoral researcher at Karolinska Institutet, I aim to expand my expertise on the oncometabolites in liver cancer.