Writing tutor Young Joon (Fred) Kwon also works as a research assistant in Dr. Marni Falk’s Lab. There, he studies mitochondrial dysfunctions that are associated with type 2 diabetes, cardiac disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and many more human diseases. In particular, he studies Caenorhabditis elegans (transparent nematode/roundworm) models of mitochondrial diseases. Recently, he has coauthored an original research article published in the journal Mitochondrion.
The research article identified drugs that change cellular signals to alleviate symptoms of mitochondrial dysfunction. In particular, Fred contributed to identifying the improvements in mitochondrial physiology and important metabolites in Caenorhabditis elegans models before and after drug treatments. Nearly all drugs identified in the publication are now in clinical trials in human patients with mitochondrial diseases. More information can be found here:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25744875Additionally, Fred closely works with Dr. Shana McCormack, a close collaborator of Dr. Falk. Dr. McCormack and Fred have recently coauthored a review paper that summarized recent findings on “false brain tumor,” or pseudotumor cerebri syndrome (PTCS). The symptoms of PTCS closely resemble those of brain tumor, which include headaches and vision problems. If left untreated, PTCS can lead to permanent vision loss, and thus identifying a unifying pathophysiology is critical. Currently, Fred is preparing a first author manuscript that reports an interesting case of a patient with PTCS that provides an important teaching lesson for clinicians. More information can be found here:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25420176This exciting work has been featured on the front page of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s website:
http://www.chop.edu/news/restoring-cellular-energy-signals-may-offer-promise-treating-mitochondrial-diseases-humans#.VTUaPyFVhBc