The goal of the Kim lab is to understand how changes in metabolic pathways support cancer cells and their survival within the tumor environment, and to exploit these changes for therapeutic purposes. Cancer cells are dependent on metabolic pathways which involve the formation of toxic metabolites. The lab aims to understand the role of these pathways, and to target these pathways to poison cancer cells with their own metabolites. Furthermore, as widespread changes in cellular metabolism accompany various physiological and pathological changes in cellular state, the lab is also interested in the potential roles of toxic metabolites in contexts outside of cancer.

• Kim et al. (2015) SHMT2 drives glioma cell survival in ischaemia but imposes a dependence on glycine clearance. Nature, 520(7547):363-367.
• Carlisle et al. (2020)Selenium detoxification is required for cancer-cell survival. Nature Metabolism, 2(7):603-611.
• Lee et al. (2020) Endogenous toxic metabolites and implications in cancer therapy. Oncogene, 39(35):5709-5720.