Suwon Kim PhD

Dr. Kim is an Associate Professor in the Cancer Cell Biology Division at TGen. She was jointly recruited to Phoenix by TGen and University of Arizona College of Medicine in Phoenix. She teaches the 1st and 2nd year medical students the topics in Cancer and Oncology at the College of Medicine. Her research laboratory is located in the Cancer and Cell Biology Division at TGen. Dr. Kim's research focuses on the characterization of genes involved in the emergence of breast cancer. Breast cancer is the single most common cancer in women. Although early detection followed by resection of tumors and tamoxifen treatment for estrogen receptor positive tumor patients have improved the cure frequency, the survival rate sharply declines for patients who have recurring tumors within 5 years of initial treatment. By deciphering oncogenes and tumor suppressors involved in the genesis and progression of breast cancer, better therapies can be developed that target specific molecular lesions associated with individual tumors.
Dr. Kim has identified several novel candidate tumor suppressor genes that can antagonize a tumor's behavior in tissue culture. One of her main projects, funded by National Cancer Institute, is to characterize one of the genes that she identified named ING4. She has shown that the ING4 gene is deleted in 10-20% human breast cancer, suggesting its role as a tumor suppressor. To better characterize the tumor suppressor function of ING4 in breast cancer, she utilizes mice as a model organism. She has shown that ING4 suppresses mammary hyperplasia that resembles an early lesion in human breast cancer. Currently, her lab is investigating the molecular.