Wasim Khan, Ph.D.
Address
4100 John R Street, Detroit, MI 48201Office address
Lab 631, Office 640.2
Department
Oncology
Research interests
• Metabolic reprogramming and bioenergetic control in cancer
• Organelle-driven signaling in tumor progression
• Modeling liver disease and cancer using genetically engineered and preclinical in vivo systems
• Translational metabolic pharmacology and small-molecule/chemical-biology approaches
Research description
The Khan laboratory investigates the metabolic signaling networks that regulate liver physiology and drive the development and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Our work focuses on how cancer cells rewire mitochondrial function, nutrient utilization, and biosynthetic pathways to sustain proliferation, adapt to environmental stress, and evade cell death. By defining the molecular mechanisms underlying these metabolic shifts, we aim to identify vulnerabilities that can be leveraged for therapeutic intervention.
To examine these processes, we integrate genetic, biochemical, and multi-omics approaches. Using CRISPR-engineered cell systems, liver-specific knockout and knock-in mouse models, and metabolic flux analyses, we study alterations in glucose, lipid, and bile acid metabolism that reshape tumor behavior. Single-cell RNA sequencing, spatial metabolomics, and quantitative proteomics allow us to map metabolic heterogeneity and identify the cellular programs that emerge during chronic liver injury, steatohepatitis, and tumorigenesis. While our research encompasses diverse metabolic regulators, a major area of focus has been HKDC1, a recently identified mitochondrial-associated hexokinase that serves as a model system for understanding how metabolic enzymes integrate signaling, organelle biology, and tumor progression. Our studies of HKDC1 have provided key insights into metabolic reprogramming in liver disease and have informed several therapeutic development efforts.
A central component of our program is translational in nature. We work collaboratively with medicinal chemists, structural biologists, and computational scientists to target metabolic regulators using small molecules, chemical probes, and next-generation protein degraders. These therapeutic discovery efforts are paired with biomarker development, including metabolic signatures, proteomic markers, and imaging-based readouts – to enable rigorous evaluation of target engagement and treatment response.
By bridging mechanistic cancer metabolism with therapeutic innovation, the Khan laboratory aims to develop new strategies to halt liver cancer progression and to advance metabolic intervention as a cornerstone of precision oncology.
PubMed - my bibliography
Education/training
2000 - 2003 B.S., Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India
2003 - 2005 M.S., Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India
2006 - 2010 Ph.D., Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India