I have been interested in the effects of dietary lipids ever since my first experience as an undergraduate research assistant, studying the regulation of hibernation in marmots by lipid-derived prostaglandins. Lipid biology has many intersections with cancer biology and is particularly relevant considering the prevalence of the so-called western diet and ongoing obesity epidemic. Some of my lipid research in the past was directly focused on cancer and how omega-3and omega-6 fatty acids modulate prostate tumor growth. Later research focused on endoplasmic reticulum stress and inflammation which are associated with multiple chronic conditions including cancer.
More recently, I have been carrying out metagenomic analysis of wastewater, conducting genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2, studying the transcriptomic responses of white clover to drought, and examining the gut microbiome of ants, among other wide-ranging activities through collaborations with researchers throughout the state of Louisiana.
My present research is supported by the Louisiana Space Grant Consortium to model the impact of spaceflight on the liver using in vitro on-the-ground systems. The liver carries out many metabolic processes that become dysregulated in microgravity, resulting in oxidative stress, inflammation, and aberrant carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, to name just a few. These processes are known to play a pathological role in the development of various diseases.
My long-term goal as a member of the LCRC is to apply this broad experience in cellular and molecular biology to develop a collaborative cancer research program at Grambling State University.
Selected Publications
KelavkarUP, Hutzley J, Dhir R, Kim PY, Allen KG et al. Prostate tumor growth and recurrence can be modulated by the omega-6:omega-3 ratio in diet: athymic mousexenograft model simulating radical prostatectomy. Neoplasia (2006) 8(2):112-24.
EstradaAL, Hudson WM, Kim PY, Stewart CM, Peelor FF, Wei Y, Wang D, Hamilton KL,Miller BF, Pagliassotti MJ. Short-term changes in diet composition do not affect in vivo hepatic protein synthesis in rats. American Journal of Physiology –Endocrinology and Metabolism (2018) Mar 1;314(3):E241-E250.
Lee L, Valmond L, Thomas J, Kim A, Austin P, Foster M,Matthews J, Kim P, Newman J. Wastewater surveillance in smaller college communities may aid future public health initiatives. PLOS One. 2022 Sep16;17(9):e0270385.
Kim PY, Kim AY, Newman JJ, Cella E, Bishop TC, Huwe PJ,Uchakina ON, McKallip RJ, Mack VL, Hill MP, Ogungbe IV, Adeyinka O, Jones S,Ware G, Carroll J, Sawyer JF, Densmore KH, Foster M, Valmond L, Thomas J,Azarian T, Queen K, Kamil JP. A collaborative approach to improving representation in viral genomic surveillance. PLOS Global Public Health. 2023 in press.
ORCID:0000-0003-4936-0261
Key Words/Topics: Endoplasmic reticulum stress, inflammation, gene expression, microbiome
