Jonghwan Kim

The Kim Laboratory studies transcriptional and epigenetic regulation of pluripotent stem cells such as embryonic stem cells (ES) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS). Pluripotent stem cells are of great interest as a model system for studying early developmental processes and as a tool for therapeutic applications in regenerative medicine. Obtaining a systematic understanding of the mechanisms controlling the stemness (self-renewal and pluripotency) of these cells relies on high-throughput tools to define regulatory networks consisting of various DNA binding proteins and their chromosomal targets at the genome level. The Kim Lab is interested in elucidating how these trans- and cis-regulators are tightly intertwined and influence the pluripotent status of stem cells. The lab uses a broad panel of techniques, including genetics, molecular biology, and high-throughput genomic approaches, in combination with computational analysis. Research focuses include 1) the construction of novel regulatory networks modeling the stemness of ES cells and iPS cells, 2) identifying transcriptional and epigenetic regulators involved in early embryonic development and lineage specification, and 3) understanding common gene expression signatures between pluripotent stem cell and cancer cells.