Sangwon Kim
Johns Hopkins University, MD·Physiology
Integrase strand transfer inhibitors (INSTIs) are a widely used class of HIV drugs. They work well, cause few side effects, and rarely interact with other medicines.
- Fields
Physiology
Pharmacology
Medicine & Clinical Research
- Topics
antiretroviral therapy
integrase strand transfer inhibitors
dolutegravir
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Jun 2029
What they work on
- Define how INSTI-based therapy disrupts whole-body metabolism through the estrogen receptor, using mice lacking estrogen receptors in fat tissue plus biochemical analyses and single-cell RNA and ATAC-sequencing.
- Determine how estrogen shapes INSTI-linked weight gain and loss of thermogenesis over time in SIV-infected monkeys with ovaries removed, with or without estrogen replacement, using repeated gene-activity profiling of fat tissue.
- Measure effects of INSTI-based therapy on thermogenic pathways and mitochondrial function in fat tissue from people with HIV followed for one year after starting treatment, and integrate gene data across mice, monkeys and humans.
More about the research
However, many people taking them gain weight, especially women, and no one knows why. The project asks how these drugs change the body's energy balance and why women may be more affected.
Why it matters
People with HIV, particularly women, can gain unwanted weight and develop metabolic problems on INSTI-based therapy. Pinpointing a sex-dependent, estrogen-linked mechanism could guide new strategies to reduce excess fat and metabolic dysfunction while patients stay on these otherwise highly effective drugs.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Cecile Lahiri
Emory University, GA·Medicine & Clinical Research·Early-career
Test whether markers of HIV persisting in rectal tissue are linked to whole-body inflammation, immune activation, and the presence and progression of early, symptom-free heart disease, using repeated heart imaging and paired blood and rectal biopsies in about 100 virally suppressed people with HIV.
Margo Emont
University of Chicago, IL·Physiology·Early-career
Track how human adipocyte subpopulations change during weight loss, using single-nucleus RNA sequencing of fat tissue collected during and after bariatric surgery.
Trayambak Pathak
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-New Orleans, LA·Physiology·Early-career
Test whether calcium entry through Orai3 channels drives mitochondrial heat production in brown adipose tissue to limit fat buildup, by measuring mitochondrial metabolism in Orai3 knockout mice.
The school
Johns Hopkins University: 100 labs on PI Pages, $4.1B a year on research, 622 research doctorates a year.
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