Dr. Chakraborty is intent on establishing a sustainable and kidney cancer-focused independent research career, and his research is centered on discovering novel and druggable targets in the most prevalent form of kidney cancer, clear cell RCC (ccRCC). The hallmark genetic lesion that defines ccRCC is the loss of the tumor suppressor, pVHL. Although this knowledge has delivered therapeutic options; advanced ccRCC remains ultimately incurable, establishing the need for more broadly effective and durable treatments for patients with the disease. Dr. Chakraborty has identified a novel gene, SLC1A1, as being more highly expressed in tumors lacking pVHL relative to tumors with functional pVHL such as in papillary or chromophobe RCC cases, which tend to be much less aggressive. SLC1A1 encodes the protein EAAT3, which was noted to increase with ccRCC disease stage; was capable of promoting growth in poorly tumorigenic cells with functional pVHL; and, shutting off EAAT3 decreased the growth of ccRCC cells, all of which suggests that it operates as an oncogene. Dr. Chakraborty, guided by his mentors, Dr. David McDermott (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center) and Dr. Nima Sharifi (Cleveland Clinic Foundation), has proposed to understand how chemical modification of SLC1A1 DNA is brought about by the loss of pVHL during ccRCC initiation and progression. Further work will evaluate how EAAT3 functions, biochemically, to enhance/alter ccRCC cellular metabolism to support the nutritional needs of kidney cancer cells. Though still early in the process, the projected outcomes from these studies could lay a foundation for targeting the chemical modification of SLC1A1, and potentially the protein it codes for, EAAT3, as potential new therapeutic options for patients with ccRCC.