UTMThe University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center · Biomedical Engineering
Piwnica-Worms Lab
Helen M Piwnica-Worms · Houston, Texas
Research Focus
Dr. Helen M. Piwnica-Worms' lab focuses on understanding how fasting before radiation therapy can protect healthy cells from damage. By studying the effects of fasting on small intestinal cells, the lab aims to find ways to enhance the treatment of cancer while reducing adverse effects in patients. The research has implications for improving the safety of radiation therapies by leveraging dietary interventions.
fastingradioprotectionsmall intestineepigeneticsgut microbiomecancer therapyionizing radiationgene expressionmetabolites
Research Aims
4AIM 01Investigate how fasting protects small intestinal stem cells from radiation damage.
AIM 02Examine the role of ketone bodies in modifying the epigenome of intestinal epithelial cells.
AIM 03Explore the impact of fasting on gut microbiome composition and its effects on gene expression.
AIM 04Test the hypothesis linking microbial metabolites to gastrointestinal radioprotection.
Skills the Lab Values
cell culturemouse modelsgene expression analysisChIP-seqepigenomicsmicrobiome analysisradiation exposure assessmentdata analysisPCR
Output against the department
Publications331top 27% of dept.163rd of 595
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations26ktop 12% of dept.72nd of 595
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.