https://ducker.biochem.utah.edu/contact-us daily 0.75 2026-04-02 https://ducker.biochem.utah.edu/research daily 0.75 2026-04-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e9a90838b51f673dbfd3ef/1648759711167-KWW9NOCB8X7M00RXJEPZ/In+vivo+met+cartoon.jpg Research https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e9a90838b51f673dbfd3ef/1648759931431-S9GB6B9CSRPNSYG2US3W/in+vitro+website+cartoon.jpg Research https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e9a90838b51f673dbfd3ef/1650390922343-Y5OMZLLJSILSPKS2673J/1_LIPID.jpg Research https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e9a90838b51f673dbfd3ef/1650390922343-Y5OMZLLJSILSPKS2673J/1_LIPID.jpg Research - New applications of isotope tracing technology Isotope tracing technology enables the quantitative measurement of metabolite fluxes and is routinely used to analyze the dynamic metabolism of polar metabolites in cell and animal systems. Altered lipid metabolism plays a deciding role in many human diseases, but application of isotope tracing methodologies to study lipid turnover are still in their infancy. Focusing on hepatocellular carcinoma as a model system, we are developing tools to comprehensively quantify specific lipid pathway production and consumption fluxes with the goal of identifying novel targetable nodes for future therapies. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e9a90838b51f673dbfd3ef/cb5b1036-eef3-4da6-aa14-7a40836a92f8/2_In+vivo+met+cartoon.jpg Research - Identifying altered metabolic fluxes in animal disease models Animal models of complex human diseases such as diabetes and heart failure are necessary to recapitulate the complex physiology of the disease. We are interested in how metabolism both within specific organs and within the entire organism is altered in a disease state. We utilize stable isotope tracers to investigate questions such as how is glucose utilization affected by heart failure, how is amino acid homeostasis perturbed in the diabetic liver, how does one-carbon metabolism affect lipid synthesis in cancer? Together with our close disease specific collaborators, we seek to integrate genetic data from patients and animal models with relevant metabolic flux data to understand the processes driving these disease states. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e9a90838b51f673dbfd3ef/30d4ab17-f47d-4e09-9f1a-bf02046c2cfb/3_in+vitro+website+cartoon.png Research - Integrating genetic and metabolic tools to exploit tumor nutrient dependencies Tumors rely on external nutrients to fuel their growth. Amino acids are frequently limiting nutrients for tumor growth and common patterns of utilization exist across cancer types. In fact, many tumors develop mutations that streamline their metabolic network leading to an absolute dependency on exogenous amino acids. We are integrating metabolic characterizations of tumor metabolism with CRISPR enabled genetic screening tools to identify novel vulnerabilities that arise in tumors with nutrient dependencies. https://ducker.biochem.utah.edu/home daily 1.0 2026-04-02 https://ducker.biochem.utah.edu/lab-members daily 0.75 2026-06-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e9a90838b51f673dbfd3ef/1642713329744-KM4VS6Q6V2VAQUU5372J/Chad_Cooper_2018_Nov-1.jpg Lab Members https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e9a90838b51f673dbfd3ef/1642713840585-PHICHNZDPV03ZKPW0XPS/Matt_McArdle-1.jpg Lab Members https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e9a90838b51f673dbfd3ef/1642713908910-AJTCN22ZVSGSB6HUWFC3/Noelle+Reimers.jpg Lab Members https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e9a90838b51f673dbfd3ef/1642714039551-MS3LU1WAVNZP9Z7RPFCS/chase-neumann.jpg Lab Members https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e9a90838b51f673dbfd3ef/d5b75aaa-42cf-412c-8f44-6e57ec31312d/Jillian+Wright+May+23+2024+p-1.jpg Lab Members https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e9a90838b51f673dbfd3ef/612d8a2d-ee62-48a8-a481-5b8c899a8dee/Quinn+Reilly+5-15-2025+p-1.jpg Lab Members https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e9a90838b51f673dbfd3ef/943213a7-e850-404b-b3bb-6a62778563da/Giulia+Napoli+9-11-25+p-1.jpg Lab Members https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e9a90838b51f673dbfd3ef/1ff6cf09-6dc3-4811-9412-4f8324099ab2/Adam+Guertler+3-19-26+p-1.jpg Lab Members https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e9a90838b51f673dbfd3ef/2808744d-1373-493e-a000-228678993b9f/Cheryl+Qian+5-28-26+p-1.jpg Lab Members https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e9a90838b51f673dbfd3ef/35c5e8e0-76ad-4962-8d64-360aafdd4ada/Greg+Ducker+December+2019.jpg Lab Members - Gregory S. Ducker, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Greg grew up in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He attended college nearby at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota where he obtained his B.A. in Chemistry in 2006. After a year working in a molecular diagnostics laboratory and learning about how most oncogenes were signaling proteins called kinases, he moved to California to pursue a Ph.D. with Kevan Shokat at the University of California, Berkeley. At Cal, Greg mostly studied how to block the activity of a master regulator of metabolism kinase, mTOR. His interest in metabolism piqued, Greg dove all-in when he started his postdoctoral work in cancer metabolism with Josh Rabinowitz at Princeton University. As an American Cancer Society fellow, Greg studied one-carbon and amino acid metabolism in cancer. He started his independent career as an Assistant Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Utah in September of 2018. New to the mountain west, Greg is excited about the hiking and skiing options that start right outside the university. https://ducker.biochem.utah.edu/gallery-1 daily 0.75 2022-01-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e9a90838b51f673dbfd3ef/230a949f-3054-45eb-9c88-edad723a6eb0/home-page-hero%402x.png Slideshow Metabolic Transformations in Human Disease https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e9a90838b51f673dbfd3ef/e4b251f3-067a-44a7-a20b-5d7bd99dee78/sergly1c%402x-100.jpg Slideshow https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e9a90838b51f673dbfd3ef/13325516-955e-411a-9d34-12501d5cc343/5-formylTHF%403x-100.jpg Slideshow https://ducker.biochem.utah.edu/lab-news daily 0.75 2026-04-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e9a90838b51f673dbfd3ef/cc44c1f0-0152-4318-a31b-e3c7ad147613/tempImageoKAzqW.jpg Lab News - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://ducker.biochem.utah.edu/join daily 0.75 2026-04-02 https://ducker.biochem.utah.edu/publications daily 0.75 2026-04-02