Please introduce yourself and explain a bit about your research.

My name is Jessalyn Ubellacker and I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular Metabolism at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. Our research focuses on how the tumor microenvironment influences metabolic vulnerabilities and cancer metastasis. We're particularly interested in the lymph node environment, as lymph nodes are one of the earliest sites where cancer cells spread and offer a more conducive environment for cancer cells to thrive and to grow. We're working to understand the metabolic characteristics of this microenvironment, as well as the changes occurring in cancer cells within the lymph nodes that may make them more prone to metastasizing to distant organs. Our goal is to develop ways to intercept cancer metastasis in lymph nodes before it progresses further.

What initially drew you to the field?

Around the time I was doing my PhD and cancer research, there were huge advancements in immunotherapy.

“Seeing the tremendous progress in cancer biology with immunotherapies made it clear that major breakthroughs were within reach, and I wanted to contribute to that momentum in the cancer metabolism space.”

Cancer metabolism research has been held back by technology limitations, especially when it comes to analyzing small quantities of cell samples or using spatial imaging for metabolomics. But now, with advancements in metabolic profiling, we can look at everything we know about cancer through a completely new lens – one that could potentially help us make even bigger breakthroughs moving forward.

What are you currently working on?

We’re currently working on understanding protective mechanisms in the lymph node microenvironment and in cancer cells that prevent ferroptosis, a form of cell death triggered when lipid oxidation reaches a critical threshold in cells. When I was a postdoc in Sean Morrison's lab at UT Southwestern in Dallas, Texas, we found that the lymph environment protects metastasizing melanoma cells from ferroptosis. Lymph nodes have high levels of oleic acid, and when cancer cells reach the lymph, they can incorporate oleic acid into their phospholipid membranes. This process makes them less susceptible to lipid oxidation. Building on those findings, we're uncovering even more factors in the lymph node environment that help cancer cells survive. Now, our focus is on targeting those elements to eliminate cancer cells in lymph nodes.

What are you most excited about in your work or field right now?

I'm excited about the progress being made with new small molecule inhibitors targeting ferroptosis – many of them work well in vitro, but we're still facing challenges with bioavailability in vivo. I think as a field we are on the verge of making real progress to effectively evaluate how these new compounds perform in preclinical models of cancer metastasis. It’s an especially exciting time because we still do not know the full potential of response we may see with these new small molecules being developed.

Where are you hoping your work will take you or have the most impact?

I’m hoping our work can help shape how we treat cancer that spreads to lymph nodes. Traditionally, cancerous lymph nodes are removed surgically, but newer findings suggest that keeping them intact might actually support better immune responses in some cases. Our research focuses on how metabolism in the lymph node influences immunity – both locally in the lymph node and throughout the body. So the bigger goal is to move this work toward the clinic, using lymph nodes not just as indicators of how a cancer is progressing or responding to treatment, but as direct sites for therapy to help drive broader anti-cancer effects.

What are you looking forward to about working with Abcam?

I’m excited to work with Abcam because I see great value in partnerships that help bridge foundational science and the tools needed to take that basic science to clinical applications. Abcam not only understands the biology, but is deeply engaged in developing the right tools to move the science forward. I’m especially looking forward to working together to identify and apply the most effective antibodies and reagents to answer key biological questions in our laboratory.

What advice would you give to a young scientist starting out in their career?

For any young scientist starting out, it’s important to recognize that obstacles and setbacks are an inherent part of the scientific process. One of the greatest challenges early-career researchers face is learning to persist when experiments don’t go as planned or progress feels slow. Tapping into the broader cancer research community early on can help ease those difficulties by finding support, perspective, and collaboration that can make the journey more sustainable and rewarding.

“It's important to know that individual setbacks are part of moving the field forward, and to find strength in the sense of community that comes with that shared effort.”

What advancements in technology do you see emerging?

It has been so fantastic to be in the lymphatic field, because we haven't had good tools and technologies to study lymphatics until recently.

 “In science, there are days when it feels like everything you’re working on has already been discovered. But in lymphatic research, we are exploring basic foundational biology that remains largely unstudied simply because the tools to study it haven’t been available until now.”

Studying the lymphatic system feels like the early days of discovery of a field because advances in scientific technology have only recently made it possible to study hard-to-reach aspects of the lymphatic system, such as cellular metabolism. It’s an especially exciting time to be in this field, with so much still to uncover and enormous potential to reshape our understanding of cancer.

Does thinking about the next 5–10 years of technological advancements excite you?

Absolutely. I remain hopeful that there are areas like immunotherapy that will continue to yield major advancements and breakthroughs. I see lymphatic research as one of the next frontiers with that kind of potential. Cancer is an incredibly complex and evolving disease. I fully recognize the challenges, but after years in cancer research, I am still optimistic that transformative breakthroughs are still to come because of these tremendous technology advancements.