Seung K. Kim, MD, PhD, Professor of Developmental Biology and (by courtesy) of Medicine (Oncology Division), Stanford University School of Medicine: Director, Stanford Diabetes Research Center (SDRC)

Research Description: Dr. Kim’s research program over the past 20 years has made important contributions in several areas of pancreas biology, including pancreas cancer, pancreatitis and diabetes. His group has innovated methods for studying pancreas, diabetes and islet biology in multiple models, and discovered cellular, molecular and genetic mechanisms governing growth, cell fate and development and function of endocrine and exocrine cells in mouse and human pancreas. His collaborations in these areas are extensive and productive. Dr. Kim is in a multi-institutional consortium organized by NIDDK/NCI to investigate mechanisms linking Chronic Pancreatitis, Pancreatogenic Diabetes and Pancreas Cancer (CPDPC). The focus of these studies at Stanford is to identify diagnostic biomarkers for early-stage pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Kim’s group has reconstituted early-stage human pancreatic cancer by genetic engineering and works with Dr. Winslow to use this model to identify diagnostic biomarkers. He is also has active collaborations with other members of the PCRG including Visser, Attardi, Longacre, Shen, Nolan, Artandi and Quake.

Selected relevant publications (Stanford PCRG members in bold):

  1. SH Chiou, IP Winters, J Wang, S Naranjo, C Dudgeon, FB Tamburini, JJ Brady, D Yang, BM Gruner, CH Chuang, DR Caswell, H Zeng, P Chu, GE Kim, DR Carpizo, SK Kim, MM Winslow. 2015. Pancreatic cancer modeling using retrograde viral vector delivery and in vivo CRISPR/Cas-9 mediated somatic genome editing. Genes and Development 29:1576-85.

  2. J Lee, Snyder ER, Liu Y, Gu X, Wang J, Flowers BM, Kim YJ, Park S, Szot GL, Hruban RH, Longacre TA, S.K. Kim. 2017. Reconstituting development of pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia from primary human pancreas duct cells. Nature Communications. 8(8): 14686.

  3. M. Enge, Arda, HE, Mignardi, M, Beausang, J, Bottino, R, S.K. Kim, and S.R. Quake. 2017. Single cell transcriptome analysis of human pancreas reveals transcriptional signatures of aging and somatic mutation patterns. Cell 171:321-330.

  4. S.S. Mello, Valente LJ, Raj N, Seoane JA, Flowers BM, McClendon J, Bieging-Rolett KT, Lee J, Ivanochko D, Kozak MM, Chang DT, Longacre TA, Koong AC, Arrowsmith CH, Kim SK, Vogel H, Wood LD, Hruban RH, Curtis C, Attardi LD. 2017. A p53 Super-tumor Suppressor Reveals a Tumor Suppressive p53-Ptpn14-Yap Axis in Pancreatic Cancer. Cancer Cell 32:460-473.

  5. Abbruzzese JL, Andersen DK, Borrebaeck CAK, Chari ST, Costello E, Cruz-Monserrate Z, Eibl G, Engleman EG, Fisher WE, Habtezion A, Kim SK, Korc M, Logsdon C, Lyssiotis CA, Pandol SJ, Rustgi A, Wolfe BM, Zheng L, Powers AC. The Interface of Pancreatic Cancer With Diabetes, Obesity, and Inflammation: Research Gaps and Opportunities: Summary of a National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases Workshop. Pancreas. 2018 May/Jun;47(5):516-525. PMID: 29702529; PMCID: PMC6361376.

  6. Lee JJ, Kim SK. Spheroid Culture of Human Pancreatic Ductal Cells to Reconstitute Development of Pancreatic Intraepithelial Neoplasia. Methods Mol Biol. 2019;1882:63-71. PMID: 30378044.

  7. Tosti L, Hang Y, Debnath O, Tiesmeyer S, Trefzer T, Steiger K, Ten FW, Lukassen S, Ballke S, Kühl AA, Spieckermann S, Bottino R, Ishaque N, Weichert W, Kim SK, Eils R, Conrad C. Single-Nucleus and In Situ RNA-Sequencing Reveal Cell Topographies in the Human Pancreas. Gastroenterology. 2021 Mar;160(4):1330-1344.e11. PMID: 33212097.