Principal Investigator
University of Ottawa Heart Institute
University of Ottawa
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Kyoung-Han Kim, Ph.D., is a scientist and director of the Functional Genetics and Metabolism Laboratory at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. He is also an assistant professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Ottawa.
Dr. Kim obtained his Ph.D. from the Department of Physiology, University of Toronto with Dr. Peter H. Backx. He pursued a postdoctoral fellowship at the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, under the direction of Dr. Chi-Chung Hui. His prior research focused on the role of the Iroquois transcription factor (Irx) family in the cardiovascular system and energy metabolism. He demonstrated the roles of Irx3 and Irx5 in the developing and adult heart, showing that Irx3 establishes rapid electrical propagation in the ventricular conduction system, while Irx5 regulates cardiac contractility. Moreover, he revealed that these two novel genetic factors, Irx3 and Irx5, are functional targets of the non-coding FTO variants associated with obesity. In 2017, he established his research laboratory at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute.
Dr. Kim’s research program focuses on the genetic and metabolic regulation of heart development, function and disease, with an emphasis on obesity, diabetes and heart failure. He is interested in the molecular function and mechanism of Irx transcription factors in the heart, which are not only implicated in organ development, but also in energy homeostasis regulation. Using genetically engineered mice as primary models, the research programme integrates physiology with molecular and systems biology approaches to address fundamental questions about cardiac metabolism in heart function and diseases.
Dr. Kim’s research program has been funded by the CIHR, HSFC, CFI and NSERC. He has received various awards, including the McDonald Scholarship as the highest-ranked National New Investigator from the HSFC (2021) and the Andrew Sass-Kortsak Award from the Hospital for Sick Children (2014).
Friday, October 28, 2022
6:30 PM – 9:00 PM EDT