Edward T. Chouchani

2026 National Award Finalist — Faculty

Edward T. Chouchani

Current Position:
Professor

Institution:
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute & Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Discipline:
Molecular & Cellular Biology

Recognized for: Discovering how molecules produced when cells break down nutrients act as signals that control fundamental biological processes, opening new paths to treat cancer and metabolic diseases. 

Areas of Research Interest and Expertise:
Metabolism, Chemical Biology, Mass Spectrometry

Previous Positions:

Postdoctoral Fellow, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (Advisor: Bruce Spiegelman)
PhD, University of Cambridge (Advisor: Mike Murphy)

Research Summary:

Cells rely on intricate communication networks to coordinate growth, adaptation, and health, yet scientists have long lacked a clear understanding of how metabolites—the small molecules produced when cells convert food into energy and the building blocks required for growth—influence these processes. Edward Chouchani, PhD, is uncovering a previously hidden layer of biological communication by revealing how these molecules regulate cellular function. Through pioneering mass spectrometry and chemical biology technologies, Chouchani has shown how metabolites control energy balance, inflammation, and cell division. These discoveries are creating new opportunities to develop medicines for obesity, cancer, metabolic disease, and other human health challenges.

“This recognition is an incredible honor for our lab's discoveries of new mechanisms by which metabolites regulate biological systems. We are excited to build on this work to define the rules of the language by which core metabolites shape life.”

Key Publications:

  1. Xiao H, Ordonez M, Fink EC, Covington TA, Woldemichael HB, Chen J, Jain MS, Rohatgi MH, Wei SM, Burger N, Sharif MA, Jan J, Wang Y, Petrocelli JJ, Blackmore K, Smythers AL, Zhang B, Gilbert M, Cheong H, Khetarpal SA, Smith A, Bogoslavski D, Lei Y, Vaites LP, McAllister FE, Van Bruggen N, Donovan KA, Huttlin EL, Mills EL, Fischer ES, Chouchani ET. Covariation MS uncovers a protein that controls cysteine catabolism. Nature, 2025.
  2. Liu W, Wang Y, Bozi LHM, Fischer P, Jedrychowski MP, Xiao H, Wu T, Darabedian N, He X, Mills EL, Burger N, Shin S, Reddy A, Sprenger HG, Tran N, Winther S, Hinshaw SM, Shen J, Seo HS, Song K, Xu AZ, Sebastian L, Zhao J, Dhe-Paganon S, Che J, Gygi SP, Arthanari H, Chouchani ET. Lactate regulates cell cycle by remodeling the anaphase promoting complex. Nature, 2023.
  3. Xiao H, Jedrychowski MP, Schweppe DK, Huttlin EL, Yu Q, Heppner DE, Li J, Long J, Mills EL, Szpyt J, He Z, Du G, Garrity R, Reddy A, Vaites LP, Paulo JA, Zhang T, Gray NS, Gygi SP, Chouchani ET. A Quantitative Tissue-Specific Landscape of Protein Redox Regulation during Aging. Cell, 2020.
  4. Reddy A, Bozi LHM, Yaghi OK, Mills EL, Xiao H, Nicholson HE, Paschini M, Paulo JA, Garrity R, Laznik- Bogoslavski D, Ferreira JCB, Carl CS, Sjoberg KA, Wojtaszewski JFP, Jeppesen JF, Kiens B, Gygi SP, Richter EA, Mathis D, Chouchani ET. pH-Gated Succinate Secretion Regulates Muscle Remodeling in Response to Exercise. Cell, 2020.

Other Honors:

2024 Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Investigator, HHMI
2024 Emerging Leader Award, Mark Foundation
2023 Distinguished Young Scientist Award, Bodossaki Foundation
2022 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science, Vilcek Foundation
2021 Pew Scholar, Pew Foundation
2021 Helmholtz Young Investigator Prize in Diabetes, Helmholtz Association
2021 Armen H. Tashjian, Jr. Award for Excellence in Endocrine Research, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
2019 Rising Star in Physiology, August Krogh Society
2016 Early Career Research Award, Biochemical Society, UK

Website