Why Do You Do This Work?
Dr. Kim, Professor and Chair of the Vivian L. Smith Department of Neurosurgery, is well known for his rare treatment of pineal cysts and his innovative stem cell treatment for spinal cord injury. Outside of his clinical practice, he leads a variety of research efforts, but one of his most far-reaching discoveries was identifying the genes that lead to an inherited risk for aneurysms.
While studying at Harvard, Dr. Kim treated a 12-year-old patient that suffered an aneurysm. Her mother had also died of an aneurysm. He continued to meet with her family members, and eventually, he and his fellow researchers studied 30 of the patient’s relatives, which eventually led to them honing in on a gene known as THSD1. This discovery opened doors of opportunity for other researchers to study potential treatments options for people with this genetic mutation.
But this research was also motivated by personal factors, and “Dr. Kim has even contemplated testing himself for the genetic mutation. Most of his peers probably don’t realize Kim’s obsession with aneurysms has been fueled, at least in part, by personal tragedy. His uncle died abruptly of a brain hemorrhage at the age of 34, when Kim was still a child. The same fate awaited three of his four grandparents” (full Houston Chronicle story here)
What is your “why”?
Click here to tell us more about what has led you to doing this work!