Chad Slawson

Chad Slawson is a leading authority on O-GlcNAcylation in cancer, demonstrating that this nutrient-responsive post-translational modification of intracellular proteins serves as a metabolic sensor linking the hexosamine biosynthetic pathway to cancer cell signaling, transcription, and epigenetic regulation. His work showed that OGT (O-GlcNAc transferase) is essential for cancer cell survival and that elevated O-GlcNAcylation drives cell cycle progression, metabolic reprogramming, and resistance to therapy. He has characterized how O-GlcNAc modifies histones to regulate chromatin structure and gene expression in cancer. His research has identified OGT as a potential therapeutic target at the nexus of cancer metabolism and epigenetics.