Jihye Yun PhD

Dr. Jihye Yun is an assistant professor at the Department of Molecular and Human Genetics at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM). She received her Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine under the mentorship of Dr. Bert Vogelstein. During her Ph.D. studies, Dr. Yun discovered low glucose conditions resulting from the suboptimal vasculature in tumors is the key to the selection of KRAS or BRAF mutations in tumors (Yun et. al, Science, 2009). Subsequently, she joined the Laboratory of Dr. Lewis Cantley at Harvard Medical School and later at Weill Cornell Medicine (WCM) as a Damon Runyon Postdoctoral Fellow to study cancer metabolism. In the Cantley lab, she discovered that high dose vitamin C could specifically kill colon cancer cells harboring KRAS or BRAF mutations (Yun et al, Science, 2016). Her findings led to the initiation of the clinical trials at Weill Cornell Medicine (Phase II) and Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center in China (Phase III). Dr. Yun moved to Houston in February 2018 to open her laboratory and conduct innovative research at BCM located in Texas Medical Center. She and her team have been exploring how sugary drinks affect colon cancer development (Yun et al, Science, 2018, in revision). Her team also works on several exciting projects concerning the effects of dietary factors on our health and diseases. She is a recipient of many prestigious awards including the recent CPRIT scholar award (first time, tenure-track recruitment) and NCI Transition Career Development Award (K22).