Project Title: Delineating the Role of the Homocysteine-Folate-Thymidylate Synthase Axis and Uracil Accumulation in African American Prostate Tumors
Position: Postdoctoral Associate
Institution: Baylor College of Medicine
Funding NIH Institute/Center: National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities
Project ID: K99MD018671
Kimiko Krieger, PhD, grew up on the south side of Atlanta. Her interest in DNA biology grew from her experience in her ninth grade biology class. She was awarded a full-tuition scholarship to Hampton University and majored in cellular and molecular biology. Her summer research internship at Georgetown University sparked her interest in genetics and prostate cancer disparities in African American men and inspired her to apply to graduate school to continue research. After graduating from Hampton, she attended the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, where her graduate work was focused on studying BRCT domain-mediated protein-protein interactions in the DNA damage response. Dr. Krieger graduated with her PhD in cancer research and began a postdoctoral fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, where she joined a laboratory focused on metabolism and altered metabolic pathways in cancer. Her research involves studying the intersectionality between DNA repair defects and nucleotide metabolism that drives prostate cancer disparities in African American men. She is a member of Black Scientist Collective at Baylor College of Medicine, the American Association for Cancer Research, Minorities for Cancer Research, the National Postdoctoral Association, and LS-PAC MODELS. Dr. Krieger is fully committed to continuing mentoring and supporting other young scientists from underrepresented backgrounds and creating a safe, inclusive environment conducive for research. She plans to pursue a career in academia as an independent investigator focused on the molecular underpinnings driving cancer health disparities, community-based participatory research, and the development of research and outreach initiatives in her community.