In-Kwon Kim

In-Kwon Kim is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy. He holds affiliations with the University of Cincinnati Cancer Center and the Breast Cancer Research Program. His research focuses on structural biology, mechanistic biochemistry, and drug discovery, particularly targeting enzymes involved in the ADP-ribosylation cycle and DNA repair pathways.

Education: BS (1998), MS (2000), and PhD (2005) in Biochemistry and Structural Biology from Seoul National University. Postdoctoral training at Washington University School of Medicine under Prof. Tom Ellenberger, followed by faculty roles at the University of Cincinnati (2016–2024).

Research Interests: Development of tumor-selective therapeutics, mechanisms of ADP-ribosylation enzymes (PARP1, PARG, ARH3), interactions with post-translational modifications (e.g., ubiquitination), and translation of findings into drug discovery. Notable achievements include a US patent for selective PARG inhibitors (US20220202821A1).

Key Contributions: Over 14 peer-reviewed publications since 2012, emphasizing structural and biochemical studies of enzymes critical to DNA repair and cancer biology. Active in chemical screening for novel inhibitors and SARS-CoV-2 replication research.

• Awards: US Patent (2022) for PARG inhibitors
• Laboratory: The Kim Lab at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy
• Grants: Supported by NIH and collaborative drug discovery initiatives