Seung K. Kim M.D., Ph.D.

Administrative Appointments

• Director, Stanford MSTP (2008 - present)
• Associate Director, Stanford Medical Scientist Training Program (2001 - 2008)
• Member, Medical Science Review Board, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (2002 - present)

Honors and Awards

• Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (2008-present)
• Pew Biomedical Research Scholar, The Pew Charitable Trusts (1999-2003)
• Named Investigator Award, Stanford-NIH Digestive Diseases Center (2000)
• Career Development Award, American Diabetes Association (1999-2003)
• Faculty Scholar Award, Donald E. and Delia B. Baxter Foundation (1999-2001)

Professional Education

Postdoctoral Advisees

Jonghyeob Lee, Kristen McKnight, Sangbin Park, Pei Wang

Graduate & Fellowship Program Affiliations

• Cancer Biology
• Developmental Biology
• Medicine
• Neonatology and Developmental Biology

Web Site Links

• Kim Lab Website

Research Interests

Organ development requires mechanisms to establish an integrated, stereotyped tissue pattern from multiple distinct cellular components. Many vital organs derive from the endodermal and mesodermal germ layers to form the gastrointestinal and respiratory tracts, yet little is known about the genetic programs that coordinate steps culminating in proper organ morphogenesis and axial position, cell differentiation and physiologic function. Our goal is to identify and understand the pathways that govern organogenesis of the pancreas, a vital organ with endocrine and exocrine functions.


We are using Drosophila, chicks and mice, organisms accessible to embryological, genetic and molecular methods, to identify cell interactions and signaling pathways that regulate early steps in pancreatic islet development. Some of the pathways active during ontogeny also regulate pancreatic growth during adulthood, and we are studying the role of these genetic pathways in growth control and function of the mature pancreas in mice. Armed with an understanding of the mechanisms regulating normal development of insulin-producing cells and other islet cells, we have been able to differentiate functional glucose-responsive islets from embryonic stem cells and other cell lines. These are capable of rescuing glucose regulation and survival in experimental animal models of diabetes mellitus. We are now using this in vitro culture system to isolate candidate islet stem/precursor populations from adult human stem cell populations. We are also using Drosophila to study neuroendocrine cells that govern metabolism. We have discovered that two cell types, one which produces insulin, the other which produces a glucagon-like peptide called AKH, are crucial regulators of glucose homeostasis in Drosophila. Genetic, biochemical, and electrophysiologic studies are being used to elucidate the programs that control development and function of these cells, which comprise the Drosophila endocrine 'pancreas'....

Publications

• Conserved markers of fetal pancreatic epithelium permit prospective isolation of islet progenitor cells by FACS. Sugiyama T, Rodriguez RT, McLean GW, Kim SK. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007; 104 (1): 175-80
• Menin controls growth of pancreatic beta-cells in pregnant mice and promotes gestational diabetes mellitus. Karnik SK, Chen H, McLean GW, Heit JJ, Gu X, Zhang AY, Fontaine M, Yen MH, Kim SK. Science. 2007; 318 (5851): 806-9
• Calcineurin/NFAT signalling regulates pancreatic beta-cell growth and function. Heit JJ, Apelqvist AA, Gu X, Winslow MM, Neilson JR, Crabtree GR, Kim SK. Nature. 2006; 443 (7109): 345-9
• Menin regulates pancreatic islet growth by promoting histone methylation and expression of genes encoding p27Kip1 and p18INK4c. Karnik SK, Hughes CM, Gu X, Rozenblatt-Rosen O, McLean GW, Xiong Y, Meyerson M, Kim SK. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2005; 102 (41): 14659-64
• Conserved mechanisms of glucose sensing and regulation by Drosophila corpora cardiaca cells. Kim SK, Rulifson EJ. Nature. 2004; 431 (7006): 316-20