IPiB Thesis Defense October 11, 2024: Kyle Flickinger

Kyle FlickingerKyle Flickinger, an IPiB graduate student, will be defending his Ph.D. research on October 11, 2024. His research in the Cantor Lab explored how nutrient availability influences cell behavior in blood cancer cells.

Flickinger’s advisor, Jason Cantor, developed a cell culture medium that supports human cell growth in nutrient conditions that more closely mimic those found in human blood. Using this medium, Flickinger investigated the relationship between folic acid, a B vitamin essential for cell growth, and NADK (a gene required to produce a co-enzyme necessary for many cellular reactions).

Flickinger’s research revealed that while high concentrations of folic acid can compensate for NADK deletion in human cells, the folic acid levels available to cells in the body make NADK essential for cell fitness. With this knowledge, researchers can further investigate targeted cancer treatments designed to target NADK. In addition, he also contributed to work exploring anticancer drug sensitivity under different nutrient conditions, including compounds already approved for cancer therapy or various non-oncology indications, others that have entered clinical trials, and still others that remain investigational. Findings from this research were recently published in Science Advances.

“If we can understand what actually controls the efficacy of a drug, then we have the opportunity to fine tune treatment strategies or develop new drugs that work even better,” explains Flickinger. “It’s great when we find a drug that works better under the physiologic conditions, but a key point is that we’re not only looking for things that work well under physiological conditions. If a drug works well under certain lab conditions, but not under physiological conditions,  we can use our system to figure out what differences between the conditions and hopefully adapt the drug treatment accordingly.”

Throughout graduate school, Flickinger found satisfaction in problem solving to improve his techniques and fine-tune his research questions. He is grateful to his mentors for allowing him to find solutions himself and he strived to create space for his own mentees to do the same. “I’ve worked closely with an undergraduate student and I’ve learned a lot about mentorship by asking him questions so that he can find the answer himself,” reflects Flickinger. “Of course, I’ve had to do the same thing in my own research. Throughout graduate school, you’re always finding out that there is a vast history to explore of the science that came before. And there are so many clues in there about what steps you can take next when an experiment isn’t working.”

Flickinger also took his mentorship to the pool. A diver himself, Flickinger coaches children at the university’s diving pool, encouraging them to trust the skills they’ve built. “Diving is basically physics, and with my background I think I am able to explain to the students why they’re going to be just fine when they hit the water. It’s a fun challenge to explain physics in a way a 6-year-old can understand,” laughs Flickinger. In exchange for his coaching, he has also continued to hone his own diving skills.

After graduating, Flickinger will continue on as a postdoctoral researcher in the Cantor Lab before pursuing a career in academia.

To learn more about Flickinger’s research, attend his Ph.D. defense, “Uncovering folate-dependent vulnerabilities of human blood cancer cells using physiologic media” on Friday, October 11 at 2:30 p.m. CT in Room 1211 of Hector F. DeLuca Biochemical Sciences Building.