Gerta Hoxhaj, Ph.D. Titles and Appointments Assistant Professor School Medical School Department Children's Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern | Biochemistry | Pediatrics Graduate Programs Biological Chemistry, Cancer Biology Biography Gerta Hoxhaj received her bachelor’s degree from Bogazici University in Istanbul, Turkey, with a double major in molecular biology and genetics and chemistry. She earned her Ph.D. in biochemistry and cell signaling from the MRC Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit at the University of Dundee, Scotland, UK, where she characterized a novel E3 ubiquitin ligase, ZNRF2, as a downstream effector of PI3K signaling. In 2013, Dr. Hoxhaj joined the laboratory of Dr. Brendan Manning at the Harvard School of Public Health, where she worked on understanding how oncogenic signaling influences cellular metabolism. Her work discovered new mechanisms that link PI3K-Akt-mTORC1 signaling with the control of nucleotide and redox metabolism. In 2019, Dr. Hoxhaj joined the faculty of Children’s Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern and became a Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) Scholar. Dr. Hoxhaj holds secondary appointments in the Departments of Pediatrics and Biochemistry at UT Southwestern. Since joining CRI, she has become a V Foundation Scholar, an American Cancer Society Scholar, and a Pew-Stewart Scholar. She has also been awarded the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science and Texas Academy of Medicine, Engineering, Science and Technology (TAMEST) Mary Beth Maddox Award and Lectureship for her research in cancer metabolism. The Hoxhaj Lab is interested in understanding the molecular fundamentals of how cells rewire their metabolism to fuel the growth and survival of cancer cells. They harness the power of classical biochemistry, metabolomics, cell biology, and mouse models to decode altered metabolism in disease. Three fundamental questions guide their work: How do cells integrate oncogenic signals to finely regulate their metabolic activities? How is metabolism linked to tissue function? How do cells sense metabolite abundance to maintain cellular homeostasis and function? Findings from the Hoxhaj Lab have the potential to reveal new therapeutic strategies for cancer and other metabolic disorders. Education Undergraduate Bogazci University (2008), Molecular Biology Graduate School Univ of Dundee (2013), Biochemistry Research Interest Cancer metabolism Kinase signaling Nutrient signaling Publications Featured Publications De novo and salvage purine synthesis pathways across tissues and tumors. Tran DH, Kim D, Kesavan R, Brown H, Dey T, Soflaee MH, Vu HS, Tasdogan A, Guo J, Bezwada D, Al Saad H, Cai F, Solmonson A, Rion H, Chabatya R, Merchant S, Manales NJ, Tcheuyap VT, Mulkey M, Mathews TP, Brugarolas J, Morrison SJ, Zhu H, DeBerardinis RJ, Hoxhaj G, Cell 2024 May Mitochondrial NADPH fuels mitochondrial fatty acid synthesis and lipoylation to power oxidative metabolism. Kim D, Kesavan R, Ryu K, Dey T, Marckx A, Menezes C, Praharaj PP, Morley S, Ko B, Soflaee MH, Tom HJ, Brown H, Vu HS, Tso SC, Brautigam CA, Lemoff A, Mettlen M, Mishra P, Cai F, Allen DK, Hoxhaj G, Nat Cell Biol 2025 Apr Cryo-EM structure and regulation of human NAD kinase. Praharaj PP, Li Y, Mary C, Soflaee MH, Ryu K, Kim D, Tran DH, Dey T, Tom HJ, Rion H, Gelin M, Lemoff A, Zacharias LG, Patricio JS, Mathews TP, Chen Z, Lionne C, Hoxhaj G, Labesse G, Sci Adv 2025 Jan 11 4 eads2664 Crystal structure of human NADK2 reveals a dimeric organization and active site occlusion by lysine acetylation. Mary C, Soflaee MH, Kesavan R, Gelin M, Brown H, Zacharias G, Mathews TP, Lemoff A, Lionne C, Labesse G, Hoxhaj G, Mol Cell 2022 Jul Purine nucleotide depletion prompts cell migration by stimulating the serine synthesis pathway. Soflaee MH, Kesavan R, Sahu U, Tasdogan A, Villa E, Djabari Z, Cai F, Tran DH, Vu HS, Ali ES, Rion H, O'Hara BP, Kelekar S, Hallett JH, Martin M, Mathews TP, Gao P, Asara JM, Manning BD, Ben-Sahra I, Hoxhaj G, Nat Commun 2022 May 13 1 2698 Mitochondrial NADP+ is essential for proline biosynthesis during cell growth. Tran DH, Kesavan R, Rion H, Soflaee MH, Solmonson A, Bezwada D, Vu HS, Cai F, Phillips JA, DeBerardinis RJ, Hoxhaj G, Nat Metab 2021 04 3 4 571-585 The PI3K-AKT network at the interface of oncogenic signalling and cancer metabolism. Hoxhaj G, Manning BD, Nat. Rev. Cancer 2019 Nov Direct stimulation of NADP+ synthesis through Akt-mediated phosphorylation of NAD kinase. Hoxhaj G, Ben-Sahra I, Lockwood SE, Timson RC, Byles V, Henning GT, Gao P, Selfors LM, Asara JM, Manning BD, Science 2019 03 363 6431 1088-1092 The mTORC1 Signaling Network Senses Changes in Cellular Purine Nucleotide Levels. Hoxhaj G, Hughes-Hallett J, Timson RC, Ilagan E, Yuan M, Asara JM, Ben-Sahra I, Manning BD, Cell Rep 2017 Oct 21 5 1331-1346 The E3 ubiquitin ligase ZNRF2 is a substrate of mTORC1 and regulates its activation by amino acids. Hoxhaj G, Caddye E, Najafov A, Houde VP, Johnson C, Dissanayake K, Toth R, Campbell DG, Prescott AR, MacKintosh C, Elife 2016 04 5 Results 1-10 of 12 1 2 Next Last Honors & Awards TAMEST Mary Beth Maddox Award and Lectureship (2025) Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science (2024) Pew-Stewart Scholar for Cancer Research (2023) American Cancer Society Scholar Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) Scholar V Foundation Scholar Professional Associations/Affiliations Children's Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern (2019)
