Summary of the science
In the lung (and other parts of the body) there are progenitor cells which are unspecialised cells that will become lung-specific at times of need, for example when the lung is injured. Sometimes, these progenitor cells will multiply when unnecessary and this can lead to cancerous tumours in the lung. The Kim Lab uses various techniques in the lab to understand how these progenitors function normally and what has to happen for them to go wrong and start causing disease.
About the research
The Kim Lab manipulates stem cell research to further our understanding of the adult lung and lung cancer. They have developed molecular tools to further understand lung biology and use various experimental systems and methods such as organoid cultures, genetic lineage tracing, and genetically engineered mouse models. One of their key lines of research is understanding how stem cell-like progenitor cells in the lung are renewed and differentiate, finding an important role for epigenetics in lung repair and tumorigenesis.
About the illustration