Natalya N. Pavlova

Natalya N. Pavlova, PhD

Languages spoken: Russian, English

Academic Information

Departments Primary - Oncological Sciences

Lab

Natasha (Natalya) Pavlova received her BS degree from the University of Virginia and a PhD from Harvard Medical School. At Harvard, she did thesis research in Dr. Stephen Elledge's lab, where she performed high-throughput gain-of-function genetic screens to identify novel genetic drivers of cell transformation in human mammary epithelial cells. For her postdoctoral training, Natasha joined Dr. Craig Thompson's lab at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. In Dr. Thompson’s lab, Natasha investigated how amino acid depletion reconfigures tRNA aminoacylation, protein synthesis and cell behavior. Natasha became an Assistant Professor in the Department of Oncological Sciences and a Huntsman Cancer Institute Investigator in October of 2022.

Research Statement

Glutamine is a versatile building block that cells use to produce a variety of biomolecules, including proteins, nucleotides, other non-essential amino acids, glucosamine-6-phosphate, and TCA cycle intermediates. Being a high-demand nutrient for proliferating cells, glutamine becomes depleted in solid tumors. Our research goals are to decipher the rules that govern the capacity of various cell types for glutamine production, investigate a novel glutamine-sensing mechanism that allows the cells to transmit the information about glutamine availability to its transcription factors, as well as develop new tools to visualize and track depletion of glutamine (and other amino acids) in tumors. You can read more about our work at pavlovalab.org.

Education History

Undergraduate University of Virginia
 BS
Doctoral Training Harvard Medical School
 PhD
Postdoctoral Training Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
 Postdoctoral Training

Selected Publications

Journal Article

  1. Ranea-Robles P, Pavlova NN, Bender A, Pereyra AS, Ellis JM, Stauffer B, Yu C, Thompson CB, Argmann C, Puchowicz M, Houten SM (2022). A mitochondrial long-chain fatty acid oxidation defect leads to tRNA uncharging and activation of the integrated stress response in the mouse heart.(Epub ahead of print). Cardiovasc Res.
  2. Schwörer S, Pavlova NN, Cimino FV, King B, Cai X, Sizemore GM, Thompson CB (2021). Fibroblast pyruvate carboxylase is required for collagen production in the tumour microenvironment. Nat Metab, 3(11), 1484-1499.
  3. Pavlova NN, King B, Josselsohn RH, Violante S, Macera VL, Vardhana SA, Cross JR, Thompson CB (2020). Translation in amino-acid-poor environments is limited by tRNAGln charging. Elife, 9.
  4. Jiang J, Srivastava S, Seim G, Pavlova NN, King B, Zou L, Zhang C, Zhong M, Feng H, Kapur R, Wek RC, Fan J, Zhang J (2019). Promoter demethylation of the asparagine synthetase gene is required for ATF4-dependent adaptation to asparagine depletion. J Biol Chem, 294(49), 18674-18684.
  5. Jiang J, Pavlova NN, Zhang J (2018). Asparagine, a critical limiting metabolite during glutamine starvation. Mol Cell Oncol, 5(3), e1441633.
  6. Pavlova NN, Hui S, Ghergurovich JM, Fan J, Intlekofer AM, White RM, Rabinowitz JD, Thompson CB, Zhang J (2018). As Extracellular Glutamine Levels Decline, Asparagine Becomes an Essential Amino Acid. Cell Metab, 27(2), 428-438.e5.
  7. Palm W, Park Y, Wright K, Pavlova NN, Tuveson DA, Thompson CB (2015). The Utilization of Extracellular Proteins as Nutrients Is Suppressed by mTORC1. Cell, 162(2), 259-270.
  8. Pavlova NN, Pallasch C, Elia AE, Braun CJ, Westbrook TF, Hemann M, Elledge SJ (2013). A role for PVRL4-driven cell-cell interactions in tumorigenesis. Elife, 2, e00358.
  9. Solimini NL, Liang AC, Xu C, Pavlova NN, Xu Q, Davoli T, Li MZ, Wong KK, Elledge SJ (2013). STOP gene Phactr4 is a tumor suppressor. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 110(5), E407-14.
  10. Zhu J, Larman HB, Gao G, Somwar R, Zhang Z, Laserson U, Ciccia A, Pavlova N, Church G, Zhang W, Kesari S, Elledge SJ (2013). Protein interaction discovery using parallel analysis of translated ORFs (PLATO). Nat Biotechnol, 31(4), 331-334.
  11. Larman HB, Xu GJ, Pavlova NN, Elledge SJ (2012). Construction of a rationally designed antibody platform for sequencing-assisted selection. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 109(45), 18523-8.
  12. Sun T, Aceto N, Meerbrey KL, Kessler JD, Zhou C, Migliaccio I, Nguyen DX, Pavlova NN, Botero M, Huang J, Bernardi RJ, Schmitt E, Hu G, Li MZ, Dephoure N, Gygi SP, Rao M, Creighton CJ, Hilsenbeck SG, Shaw CA, Muzny D, Gibbs RA, Wheeler DA, Osborne CK, Schiff R, Bentires-Alj M, Elledge SJ, Westbrook TF (2011). Activation of multiple proto-oncogenic tyrosine kinases in breast cancer via loss of the PTPN12 phosphatase. Cell, 144(5), 703-18.
  13. Mulligan P, Westbrook TF, Ottinger M, Pavlova N, Chang B, Macia E, Shi YJ, Barretina J, Liu J, Howley PM, Elledge SJ, Shi Y (2008). CDYL bridges REST and histone methyltransferases for gene repression and suppression of cellular transformation. Mol Cell, 32(5), 718-26.
  14. Westbrook TF, Hu G, Ang XL, Mulligan P, Pavlova NN, Liang A, Leng Y, Maehr R, Shi Y, Harper JW, Elledge SJ (2008). SCFbeta-TRCP controls oncogenic transformation and neural differentiation through REST degradation. Nature, 452(7185), 370-4.
  15. Cinar B, Fang PK, Lutchman M, Di Vizio D, Adam RM, Pavlova N, Rubin MA, Yelick PC, Freeman MR (2007). The pro-apoptotic kinase Mst1 and its caspase cleavage products are direct inhibitors of Akt1. EMBO J, 26(21), 4523-34.
  16. Bandyopadhyay U, Todorova P, Pavlova NN, Tada Y, Thompson CB, Finley LWS, Overholtzer M (2022). Leucine retention in lysosomes is regulated by starvation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 119(6).
  17. Zhang J, Ali MY, Chong, HB, Tien PC, Woods J, Noble C, Vornbaumen T, Ordulu Z, Possemato AP, Harry S, Fonticella JM, Felah L, Harrison D, Ge, M, Khandelwal, N, Huang Y, Chauvin M, Bischof AT, Hambelton GM, Gohar MF, Zhang S, Choi M, Bouberhan S, Oliva E, Mino-Kenudson M, Pavlova NN, Lawrence M, Gainor JF, Beausoleil SA, Bardeesy N, Mostoslavsky R, Pepin D, Ott CJ, Liau B, Bar-Peled L. (2025). Oxidation of retromer complex controls mitochondrial translation. Nature, (641), 1048¿1058.

Review

  1. Zhang J, Pavlova NN, Thompson CB (2017). Cancer cell metabolism: the essential role of the nonessential amino acid, glutamine. [Review]. EMBO J, 36, (10), 1302-1315.
  2. Pavlova NN, Thompson CB (2016). The Emerging Hallmarks of Cancer Metabolism. [Review]. Cell Metab, 23, (1), 27-47.
  3. Pavlova NN, Zhu J, Thompson CB (2022). The hallmarks of cancer metabolism: Still emerging. [Review]. Cell Metab, 34, (3), 355-377.
  4. Pavlova NN and Thompson CB (2024). Oncogenic Control of Cancer Metabolism. [Review]. 14, (10).

Book Chapter

  1. Pavlova NN, Thompson CB (2017). Cancer Metabolism. In Bast RC, Croce CM, Hait WN, Hong WK, Kufe DW, Piccart-Gebhart M, Pollock RE, Weichselbaum RR, Wang H, Holland JF (Eds.), Holland-Frei Cancer Medicine 9 (9th Edition). Wiley-Blackwell.

Other

  1. Chen YT, Lin YH, Rahman J, Cross J, Pavlova NN, Vardhana SA (2025). Intratumoral amino acid insufficiency limits CD8+ T-cell effector function. BioRxiv [Preprint].