Nika Bhatt

Nika Bhatt has focused on the electron transport chain as a therapeutic target in cancer, demonstrating that complex III of the ETC is essential for pyrimidine biosynthesis in cancer cells through dihydroorotate dehydrogenase coupling, providing a metabolic rationale for ETC targeting beyond energy production. Her research showed that ETC supercomplexes are reorganized in cancer cells to optimize ROS production for signaling while maintaining sufficient ATP for proliferation. She established that coenzyme Q biosynthesis enzymes are frequently upregulated in cancer and represent druggable vulnerabilities. Her work on selective ETC complex targeting has informed the development of next-generation mitochondrial inhibitors for cancer.