Kim is a PhD candidate at the University of Newcastle within the Newcastle Centre of Excellence in Cardio-Oncology. With a genuine curiosity for how cells work and why they sometimes go wrong, she is driven by the ambition to turn biological insights into better treatments for patients.
She holds a Master of Biotechnology from the University of Queensland, where she developed a strong foundation in molecular biology, focusing on the transcriptional regulation of proteins involved in mitophagy, the selective degradation of damaged mitochondria. Building on this, she worked as a Research Assistant at the University of Newcastle, deepening her practical expertise in 3D organoid culture and co-culture systems using gynaecological tissues, and gaining hands-on experience in how complex cellular environments can be modelled in the lab to study disease and therapeutic responses.
Now channelling that experience into her PhD in cardio-oncology, Kim is investigating how cancer therapies affect the heart and whether new strategies can simultaneously improve anti-tumour efficacy and protect cardiovascular health. It is a question that sits at the intersection of two life-threatening conditions, and one she finds both scientifically fascinating and deeply meaningful. At the heart of her research is a passion for understanding the molecular mechanisms by which cells respond to disease, and a commitment to translating those discoveries into approaches that make a real difference to patients’ lives.