O’Connell Lab: Center for Cachexia Research, Innovation and Therapy

As patients with cancer progress along their disease trajectory, it is common for them to be afflicted by the severe wasting syndrome known as cancer cachexia. These patients experience a profound loss of skeletal muscle mass that leads to severely reduced quality of life, impaired tolerance to chemotherapy and shortened survival. In some forms of cancer the prevalence of cachexia is nearly 80 percent and will be the ultimate cause of death in about one third of patients. There is an increasing recognition that cachexia is a metabolic disorder, characterized by perturbed energy balance and deranged mitochondrial function. The goal in cancer cachexia research is to develop precision based diagnostics and new therapeutic strategies to preserve muscle mass, improve treatment response and ultimately lead to improved cancer outcomes.

Active Research

The O’Connell Lab focuses on applying integrated metabolomics analyses to develop new precision diagnostics and determine the metabolic drivers of cancer-associated cachexia and other wasting conditions. Laboratory members investigate the use of specific metabolic reprogramming agents targeted toward the resuscitation of a healthy metabolic phenotype in skeletal muscle while not interfering with and potentially even augmenting the action of chemotherapeutic agents.

In addition to cachexia, the O’Connell Lab is actively engaged in studies of bone metabolism related to aging. Using in vitro and in vivo models, researchers examine novel metabolic pathways involved in muscle-bone cross-talk that can help maintain bone health.

The O’Connell Lab is part of the Center for Cachexia Research Innovation and Therapy (CCRIT), an international multidisciplinary research effort dedicated to prevent muscle wasting due to cancer and chemotherapy. Dr. O’Connell is a faculty member in the Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery.

American Cancer Society

American Cancer Society

Mechanisms of chemotherapy-induced muscle weakness and fatigue

07/01/2018 – 06/30/2022
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)

Indiana Core Center for Clinical Research in Musculoskeletal Health

Role: Metaboloics Sub-Core Director

09/01/2017 – 08/31/2022
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)

Osteocyte regulation of bone/muscle with age

09/01/2018 – 09/31/2023
NIH Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)

Open scalable software infrastructure for metabolomics data integration-specific aims

09/01/2018 – 08/31/2020
Pilot Project Proposal for IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center Associate Members

Novel role for PDK4 in the pathogenesis of cancer- and chemotherapy-associated cachexia

11/01/2017 – 10/31/2019
V Scholar Grand Award (The V Foundation)

Mechanisms and treatment of chemotherapy-induced cachexia and muscle weakness

11/01/2017 – 10/31/2019

Primary Investigator

Thomas M. O'Connell, PhD

Associate Professor of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery

Read Bio Thomas M. O'Connell, PhD