James Kim, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor

Dr. James Kim received his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Rochester, where he also completed his Internal Medicine Residency. Dr. Kim completed a medical oncology fellowship at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins. During his fellowship, Dr. Kim joined the laboratory of Dr. Philip Beachy (at both Johns Hopkins and Stanford University) where he studied the role of Hedgehog signaling pathway, a critical developmental pathway, in cancer and small molecule inhibitors of this pathway.

At UT Southwestern, Dr. Kim’s laboratory focuses on how fundamental developmental pathways, such as Hedgehog, are involved in the initiation, growth, and metastases of cancers through the use of cancer mouse models and cell and molecular biological techniques. The laboratory also seeks to understand interactions of these pathways with each other and between tumor epithelia and stroma. In his clinic, Dr. Kim specializes in the care of patients with lung cancer and other thoracic malignancies.

Medical School

University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry (1997)

Medical School

University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry (1999)

Internship

University of Rochester Medical Center (2000), Internal Medicine

Residency

University of Rochester Medical Center (2002), Internal Medicine

Fellowship

Johns Hopkins Hospitals & Health System (2006), Medical Oncology

Other Post Graduate Training

Stanford University (2010)

• Developmental Pathways
• Hedgehog Signaling Pathway
• Lung Cancer
• Molecularly Targeted Therapy
• Tumor Epithelial-Stromal Interactions

Featured Publications

Posaconazole, a second-generation triazole antifungal drug, inhibits the Hedgehog signaling pathway and progression of basal cell carcinoma.

Chen B, Trang V, Lee A, Williams NS, Wilson AN, Epstein EH, Tang JY, Kim J Mol. Cancer Ther. 2016 Jan

Open-label, exploratory phase II trial of oral itraconazole for the treatment of basal cell carcinoma.

Kim DJ, Kim J, Spaunhurst K, Montoya J, Khodosh R, Chandra K, Fu T, Gilliam A, Molgo M, Beachy PA, Tang JY J. Clin. Oncol. 2014 Mar 32 8 745-51

Simultaneous measurement of smoothened entry into and exit from the primary cilium.

Kim J, Hsia EY, Kim J, Sever N, Beachy PA, Zheng X PLoS ONE 2014 9 8 e104070

Hedgehog pathway modulation by multiple lipid binding sites on the smoothened effector of signal response.

Myers BR, Sever N, Chong YC, Kim J, Belani JD, Rychnovsky S, Bazan JF, Beachy PA Dev. Cell 2013 Aug 26 4 346-57

Itraconazole and arsenic trioxide inhibit Hedgehog pathway activation and tumor growth associated with acquired resistance to smoothened antagonists.

Kim J, Aftab BT, Tang JY, Kim D, Lee AH, Rezaee M, Kim J, Chen B, King EM, Borodovsky A, Riggins GJ, Epstein EH, Beachy PA, Rudin CM Cancer Cell 2013 Jan 23 1 23-34

Hedgehog-responsive candidate cell of origin for diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma

Monje M, Mitra SS, Freret ME, Raveh TB, Kim J, Masek M, Attema JL, Li G, Haddix T, Edwards MS, Fisher PG, Weissman IL, Rowitch DH, Vogel H, Wong AJ, Beachy PA Proc Natl Acad Sci 2011 Mar 15 108 (11) 4453-8

Hedgehog/Wnt feedback supports regenerative proliferation of epithelial stem cells in bladder

Shin K, lee J, Guo N, Kim J, Lim A, Qu L, Mysorekar IU, Beachy PA Nature 2011 Apr 7 472 (7341) 110-4

Arsenic antagonizes the Hedgehog pathway by preventing ciliary accumulation and reducing stability of the Gli2 transcriptional effector

Kim J, Lee JJ, Kim J, Gardner D, Beachy PA Proc Natl Acad Sci 2010 Jul 27 107 (30) 13432-7

Itraconazole, a commonly used antifungal that inhibits Hedgehog pathway activity and cancer growth

Kim J, Tang JY, Gong R, Kim J, Lee JJ, Clemons KV, Chong CR, Chang KS, Fereshteh M, Gardner D, Reya T, Liu JO, Epstein EH, Stevens DA, Beachy PA Cancer Cell 2010 Apr 13 17 (4) 388-99

Thermodynamics of coaxially stacked helixes with GA and CC mismatches

Kim J, Walter AE, Turner DH Biochemistry 1996 Oct 29 35 (43) 13753-61

• Simmons Cancer Center and American Cancer Society New Investigator Award
  (2012)
• National Lung Cancer Partnership Young Investigator Research Grant
  (2010)
• American Society of Clinical Oncology Young Investigator Award
  (2005)

• International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (2012)
• American Association for Cancer Research (2003)
• American Society of Clinical Oncology (2002)