Jun Woo Kim
Bioengineering
Bio-X Bowes Fellow 2013/2014
Profs. Jennifer Cochran (Bioengineering), Alejandro Sweet-Cordero (Pediatrics), and Calvin Kuo (Medicine)

To communicate with their environment, cells use receptors at their surface to detect various biochemical signals. Receptor-mediated dysregulation of signaling pathways can lead to various diseases, including cancer. Protein therapeutics with special targeting activity have become increasingly important to manipulate receptor signaling pathways for effective cancer therapies with lower side effects. The goal of Jun Kim's project is to study the ciliary neurotrophic factor receptor signaling pathway as a novel therapeutic target for cancer. To move beyond proof-of-principle and develop a therapeutic clinical candidate, he will use a protein engineering approach to develop affinity and specificity enhanced therapeutic molecules for clinical application.