Zachary Levi Watson, PhD

Rivkin Pilot Grant

University of Colorado Denver
The Influence Of Bone Marrow-Derived Adipocytes On Pro-Tumor Signaling And Lipid Metabolism In Ovarian Cancer

Project Summary
Dr. Watson is investigating a potential driver of ovarian cancer development to lay the foundation for discovering new early detection and treatment strategies. Ovarian cancer spreads aggressively into abdominal fat deposits, which often increase after menopause. He found that a type of abdominal fat cell called bone marrow-derived adipocytes (BMDAs) are inflammatory and make ovarian cancer cells grow faster. He will test the hypothesis that BMDAs send signals to cancer cells to turn off tumor suppressor proteins, change their metabolism, and make the cancer cells more aggressive. The results may help inform the development of new treatments, particularly for postmenopausal women who often have worse disease.

Bio
Levi Watson, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the University of Colorado Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Division of Reproductive Sciences. Prior to joining the CU Gynecologic Oncology Research Group, Dr. Watson’s graduate work in virology at the University of Florida explored epigenetic control of herpes simplex virus latency and reactivation. In 2017, he joined Dr. Benjamin Bitler’s lab as a postdoctoral fellow and applied his expertise in epigenetics to examine how histone-modifying enzymes promote therapy resistance in ovarian cancers. Dr. Watson and his collaborators are continuing this line of work with an eye toward clinical trials using new targeted therapy drugs. In 2019, Dr. Watson initiated a collaboration with scientists at CU and the Veteran’s Administration exploring the influence of inflammatory adipocytes and their effects on ovarian cancer metabolism and anti-tumor immunity. This highly innovative work is now showing that changing the adipose environment of ovarian cancer tumors can slow their growth and alter the immune response. Promoted to Assistant Professor in 2023, Dr. Watson is continuing to expand this work, with the goal of translating metabolic research into interventions that improve patient survival and quality of life.