The Fisher-Wellman Lab

Although all mitochondria make ATP, emerging evidence from our lab and many others suggests that the efficiency of this process varies widely across the human body’s > 200 distinct cell types. Such mitochondrial specialization allows for genetically identical mitochondrial populations across organs to individually align energy efficiency with physiology (i.e., promote bioenergetic fidelity). Simply stated, all mitochondria are not created equal; rather they are bioenergetically tailored to their respective host cell’s physiology. Our laboratory is principally interested in understanding how mitochondrial efficiency aligns with physiology across cells/organs, with a specific focus on how this process become disrupted in the context of cancer. To do this, we leverage a state-of-the art mitochondrial diagnostics workflow we developed which unites comprehensive, discovery-based bioenergetic phenotyping with large-scale analysis of the mitochondrial proteome using mass spectrometry. Learn more about our work by checking out our current projects and past publications. Click the link for up-to-date lab news!