Welcome to the KIM Laboratory!
"More of the Right Cells
for Better Translational Medicine"
Image credit: Peter Znamenskiy
The KIM LABORATORY is working on bioengineering of cancer stem cells (CSCs) to better assist translational medicine. CSCs are considered the stem cell-like pluripotent cancer cells that cause relapse in patients even after the most rigorous treatment. Pharmaceutical companies, however, typically use several decades-old cancer cell lines during their drug development because, among many reasons, (1) CSCs are hard to acquire and (2) are limited in number. It is becoming increasingly recognized, however, drug development must be based on CSCs to develop better drugs that target the "real culprit" in tumors. Therefore, our work aims to bridge the oncologists with the engineers by developing various bioengineering models that better recapitulate patient tissues using CSCs. By doing so, we hope to assist in the drug development by providing a more relevant and closer-to-clinic resource of cancer cells. Recent efforts include the development of brain tumor organoids and fluid shear stress-based breast cancer metastasis models.
Note: The views, opinions, and conclusions expressed in these pages are those of the author and not necessarily those of The University of Alabama or its officers and trustees. The content of this page has not been reviewed or approved by the University of Alabama, and the author is solely responsible for its content.Last updated: 29 Oct 2024