Dr. Nadine Hempel's research interests center on understanding molecular mechanisms that regulate metastasis and tumor recurrence of ovarian cancer, with the ultimate goal of identifying novel targets for therapy of advanced-stage disease.
Her research group uses a variety of molecular, cellular, imaging and in vivo techniques to focus on two research areas in cancer biology: first, the role of mitochondrial antioxidants, reactive oxygen species and redox signaling during metastatic progression; and second, the regulation of mitochondrial dynamics and metabolism in ovarian cancer.
- BSc, Honors, University of Queensland, 1999
- PhD, University of Queensland, 2004
- Post-doctoral Fellow, Duke University Medical Center, 2007
- Post-doctoral Fellow, Albany Medical College, 2011
Education & Training
Javed Z, Shin DH, Pan W, White SR, Elhaw AT, Kim YS, Kamlapurkar S, Cheng YY, Benson JC, Abdelnaby AE, Phaëton R, Wang HG, Yang S, Sullivan MLG, St Croix CM, Watkins SC, Mullett SJ, Gelhaus SL, Lee N, Coffman LG, Aird KM, Trebak M, Mythreye K, Walter V, Hempel N. Drp1 splice variants regulate ovarian cancer mitochondrial dynamics and tumor progression. EMBO Rep. 2024 Oct;25(10):4281-4310. PMID: 39191946; PMCID: PMC11467262.
Kim YS, Tang PW, Welles JE, Pan W, Javed Z, Elhaw AT, Mythreye K, Kimball SR, Hempel N. HuR-dependent SOD2 protein synthesis is an early adaptation to anchorage-independence. Redox Biol. 2022 Jul;53:102329. PMID: 35594792; PMCID: PMC9121325.
Kim YS, Gupta Vallur P, Jones VM, Worley BL, Shimko S, Shin DH, Crawford LC, Chen CW, Aird KM, Abraham T, Shepherd TG, Warrick JI, Lee NY, Phaeton R, Mythreye K, Hempel N. Context-dependent activation of SIRT3 is necessary for anchorage-independent survival and metastasis of ovarian cancer cells. Oncogene. 2020 Feb;39(8):1619-1633. PMID: 31723239; PMCID: PMC7036012.
Worley BL, Kim YS, Mardini J, Zaman R, Leon KE, Vallur PG, Nduwumwami A, Warrick JI, Timmins PF, Kesterson JP, Phaëton R, Lee NY, Walter V, Endres L, Mythreye K, Aird KM, Hempel N. GPx3 supports ovarian cancer progression by manipulating the extracellular redox environment. Redox Biol. 2019 Jul;25:101051. PMID: 30509602; PMCID: PMC6859581.
- Young Investigator Award, Society for Redox Biology and Medicine (SfRBM), 2008 & 2010
- Scholar-in-Training Award, American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), 2010
- Outstanding Collaborative Research Team Award, Penn State College of Medicine, 2020
- Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, Penn State College of Medicine, 2021
- Hillman Cancer Center Senior Fellow for Innovative Cancer Research, 2022
R01 CA301573, Cell intrinsic and extrinsic effects of zinc metabolism in therapy resistant melanoma, MPI, 2025-2030.
R01 CA242021, Regulation of mitochondrial redox homeostasis and signaling in metastatic ovarian cancer, PI, 2020-2026.
DOD W81XWH2210252, Role of Mitochondrial Dynamics in Tumor Cell Plasticity and Chemoresistance During Ovarian Cancer Progression, PI, 2022-2025.
R01 CA230628, Role of Sox2 in Stress Adaptations to Ovarian Cancer Anchorage Independence, MPI, 2019-2024.
