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News
A UCLA scientist has developed a groundbreaking method called STOMP to track how individual cells use nutrients in their natural environment. By embedding stable isotope labels into long-lasting molecules like proteins and DNA, researchers can read a cell's metabolic record even after it's been isolated. The approach could transform our understanding of diseases like diabetes, fatty liver disease, and cancer.
Nutrition science has long struggled with a frustrating paradox: we have mountains of dietary advice but surprisingly little understanding of what actually happens when nutrients reach individual cells. UCLA scientist Tara TeSlaa is tackling that gap head-on with a novel technique called STOMP (Stable isotope Tracing of Orthogonal Metabolites into bioPolymers), backed by up to $2.375 million from an NIH Director's New Innovator Award.
The core challenge? Metabolites — the tiny molecules cells produce while processing nutrients — can vanish in seconds or minutes, far faster than researchers can isolate specific cell types. STOMP gets around this by tagging nutrients with stable (non-radioactive) isotopes that leave a lasting imprint in slower-changing molecules like proteins and DNA, creating a durable record of nutrient use that can be read after cells are removed from the body. TeSlaa's team will start by mapping metabolism in the liver and pancreas — two organs central to metabolic diseases — before expanding to the brain, heart, muscle, and beyond.
Key Takeaways:
Why it matters: Conflicting nutrition studies often stem from the fact that what's beneficial for one cell type may not be for another. STOMP could give researchers the cell-level resolution needed to make sense of those contradictions — and open new doors for metabolism-targeting therapies in cancer, diabetes, and aging.
