Beginning with my graduate studies, my research has focused on the identification of the molecular factors responsible for muscle wasting (i.e. cachexia), a condition observed with the occurrence of cancer. Throughout my PhD training my research involved characterizing the IGF-1 and myostatin signaling pathways by means of experimental and clinical studies. Understanding the role of the IL-6/gp130/STAT3 pathway in cachexia has been the subject of my postdoctoral training at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, as well as Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA. The main purpose of my work was to validate a key role for STAT3 in causing muscle atrophy. As Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at Indiana University, I am currently developing new experimental models of cancer cachexia (mainly colorectal and ovarian cancer) and investigating novel mediators of muscle wasting resulting from administration of anticancer drugs. Currently, my research is focused on interrogating the molecular mechanisms responsible for abnormal muscle and bone crosstalk in cachexia due to cancer and/or anticancer treatments. In collaboration with investigators at IUSM affiliated with the Indiana Center for Musculoskeletal Health and the Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center my research aims to identify novel targets for therapeutic interventions, with the ultimate goal of improving the musculoskeletal complications associated with cachexia and other chronic disease conditions.

Pin, F., Barreto, R., Kitase, K., Mitra, S., Erne, C.E., Novinger, L.J., Zimmers, T.A., Couch, M.E., Bonewald, L.F. & Bonetto, A. (2018) Growth of ovarian cancer xenografts causes loss of muscle and bone mass: a new model for the study of cancer cachexia. Journal of Cachexia Sarcopenia and Muscle, 9(4):685-700. PMID: 30009406

Pin, F., Barreto, R., Couch, M.E., Bonetto, A.* & O’Connell, T.M.* (2019) Cachexia induced by cancer and chemotherapy yield distinct perturbations to energy metabolism. Journal of Cachexia Sarcopenia and Muscle, 10(1):140-154. doi: 10.1002/jcsm.12360 *co-corresponding author. PMID: 30680954

Pin, F., Novinger, L.J., Huot, J.R., Harris, R.A., Couch, M.E., O’Connell, T.M. & Bonetto, A. (2019) PDK4 drives metabolic alterations and muscle atrophy in cancer cachexia. FASEB Journal, 33(6):7778-7790. doi: 10.1096/fj.201802799R. PMID: 30894018

Huot, J.R., Novinger, L.J., Pin, F., Narasimhan, A., Zimmers, T.A., O’Connell, T.M., & Bonetto, A. (2020) Formation of colorectal liver metastases induces musculoskeletal and metabolic abnormalities consistent with exacerbated cachexia. JCI Insight. doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.136687. PMID: 32298240