Seung K. Kim M.D., Ph.D. Current Research and Scholarly InterestsWe study the genetics of pancreatic islet cell differentiation using molecular, embryologic and genetic methods in several model systems, including mice, embryonic stem cells, and Drosophila.
Current Research and Scholarly Interests We study the genetics of pancreatic islet cell differentiation using molecular, embryologic and genetic methods in several model systems, including mice, embryonic stem cells, and Drosophila.
These experimental systems include the invertebrate nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, the more complex invertebrate Drosophila melanogaster, and vertebrate systems including mice, rats and other mammals.
Complete inactivation of PTEN in model systems (including mice, flies, worms and fish) is incompatible with life, and mice that are heterozygous for Pten inactivation are tumor-prone.
The best known homeobox genes include Hox, ParaHox, NK, Otx, Pax and Dlx genes which have been extensively studied in many animal model systems including mice, zebrafish, nematodes and Drosophila.
BRCA1 inhibits IGF-I action, so BRCA1 deficiency also leads to increased expression of several IGF-I signaling pathway components in multiple experimental systems, including mice, mammary tumors, and cultured human cells [ 75, 76].
This is, in part, due to the fact that the model systems that best simulate the effects of DAE in humans (vertebrate systems including mice and Xenopus) (Allan et al. 2003; Yelin et al. 2005) are generally not amenable to forward genetic analysis, making unbiased identification of ethanol's targets difficult.
The pandemic development of obesity and related disorders, such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, has led to significant efforts to study the molecular basis of lipid-associated disorders in various experimental model systems, including mice, worms, flies, and yeast.
