Maternal & Child Health Research Institute (MCHRI)


Showing 31-40 of 57 Results

  • Peter S. Kim

    Peter S. Kim

    Virginia and D. K. Ludwig Professor of Biochemistry

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOur research focuses on developing new strategies for vaccine creation. We also aim to generate vaccines targeting infectious agents that have eluded efforts to date. We integrate experimental approaches with protein language models to guide artificial evolution and enable efficient antibody and protein engineering. Our interdisciplinary approach aims to address critical global health challenges.

  • Seung K. Kim  M.D., Ph.D.

    Seung K. Kim M.D., Ph.D.

    KM Mulberry Professor, Professor of Developmental Biology, of Medicine (Endocrinology) and, by courtesy, of Pediatrics (Endocrinology)

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsWe study the development of pancreatic islet cells using molecular, embryologic and genetic methods in several model systems, including mice, pigs, human pancreas, embryonic stem cells, and Drosophila. Our work suggests that critical factors required for islet development are also needed to maintain essential functions of the mature islet. These approaches have informed efforts to generate replacement islets from renewable sources for diabetes.

  • Yong Yean Kim

    Yong Yean Kim

    Assistant Professor of Pediatrics ( Hematology & Oncology)

    BioOur lab is interested in translational science to bring new therapies to clinical trials. In particular, we are interested in pediatric sarcomas which have not had advancement in clinical treatment for decades. Current projects in the lab focus on understanding of the biology of fusion transcription factor PAX3::FOXO1 which is the driver mutation in fusion positive rhabdomyosarcoma. PAX3::FOXO1 is a powerful oncogenic transcription factor which rewires the transcriptional organization to lock the cancer cell in the proliferative state. Since transcription factors including PAX3::FOXO1 are difficult to target using small molecules, we aim to understand how PAX3::FOXO1 is regulated and targeting the regulators of PAX3::FOXO1. By understanding and targeting the regulation of PAX3::FOXO1, we hope to bring new therapies for fusion positive rhabdomyosarcoma. Additionally, these regulatory mechanisms may also be active in other transcription driven cancers such as the EWSR1::FLI1 driven Ewings Sarcoma.

    Our lab is also interested in exploring the epigenetic landscape of pediatric solid tumors and trying to understand how dysregulation in the epigenome drives oncogenesis. We utilize various CRISPR mediated genetic techniques to interrogate the regulators of epigenome focusing on the histone lysine demethylases (KDMs). KDMs are an understudied group of epigenetic regulators which can be targeted for therapeutic effect. We explore the role of KDMs in pediatric solid tumors and hope to identify potential targets for drug development.

  • Alaina Kipps

    Alaina Kipps

    Clinical Professor, Pediatrics - Cardiology

    BioDr. Kipps grew up in Santa Cruz, California and completed her medical degree at Harvard Medical School in 2003. After general pediatrics residency at Stanford, she completed pediatric cardiology fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital from 2006 to 2009. After three years on faculty with University of California, San Francisco she was recruited back to Stanford in 2012 to become the medical director for acute care cardiology (2013-2021). Since 2021 she has focused on QI for the ACCU and heart center, and has served as the ACCU local improvement team medical director since 2013. In 2014 she co-founded the Pediatric Acute Care Cardiology Collaborative (PAC³) with Nicolas Madsen and co-directed this since inception to spring 2026. PAC³ has 50 participating centers, a registry since 2019 with >150,000 encounters, and is the academic society for the ACCU subspecialty. Her academic focus is in clinical effectiveness and quality improvement science, and she completed her Masters of Science in Epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health in 2016. Her other significant interest is in teaching, mentorship, and coaching. She is the co-director of the Pediatric residency program scholarly concentration in Quality Improvement, co-leads the Pediatric department peer scholar community (in QI), and has served as a residency coach since 2020.

  • Varvara A. Kirchner

    Varvara A. Kirchner

    Associate Professor of Surgery (Abdominal Transplantation) and, by courtesy, of Pediatrics

    BioDr. Kirchner completed her medical school, surgical residency and multi-organ transplant fellowship in adult and pediatric liver, pancreas, kidney transplantation and total pancreatectomy with islet auto-transplantation at the University of Minnesota. She underwent further training in living donor liver transplantation and hepatobiliary surgery at the Asan Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea. Her clinical practice involves living and deceased donor liver and kidney transplantation in adult and pediatric patients as well as total pancreatectomy with islet auto-transplantation for patients with chronic and acute recurrent pancreatitis. She currently serves as Surgical Director of the Islet Cell Auto-Transplant at Stanford Children’s and Associate Director of the Living Donor Liver Transplant Program at the Division of Abdominal Transplantation. Dr. Kirchner’s research focuses on the biology of aging, cellular and solid organ transplantation. Her specific interests are in auto-islet transplantation, iPSC-derived hepatocyte therapies and liver regeneration. Dr. Kirchner's research on the impact of donor age on generation of iPSC-derived hepatocyte-like cells is supported by the NIA K08 Faculty Development Award. She is an active member of the American Society of Transplant Surgeons and the International Liver Transplantation Society.

  • Jonathan D Klein

    Jonathan D Klein

    Marron and Mary Elizabeth Kendrick Professor of Pediatrics

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy studies address:
    1. Confidentiality and Access to Care studies of confidential time during well-visits and policy analyses addressing quality of care and health systems capacity for adolescents and young adults in the US and globally; and,
    2, Tobacco, nicotine, and second-hand smoke studies of primary care counseling to reduce nicotine addiction in adolescents and programs to engage medical specialty groups in secondhand smoke clinical and policy interventions.

  • Teri Klein

    Teri Klein

    Professor (Research) of Biomedical Data Science, of Medicine (BMIR) and, by courtesy, of Genetics
    On Partial Leave from 01/16/2026 To 12/18/2026

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsCo-founder, Pacific Symposium on Biocomputing
    NIEHS, Site Visit Reviewer
    NIH, Study Section Reviewer