Kyung Chan (KC) Park

Research Interests

A major clinical challenge in the care of cancer patients and cancer survivors is the prevalence of cancer therapy-related cardiovascular toxicity (CTR-CVT), such as cardiotoxicity. Cardio-oncology is a rapidly growing field owing to the continuous expansion of novel cancer therapies, as reflected by the inaugural release of clinical guidelines by the European Society of Cardiology in 2022. An unmet clinical need is the prevention of CTR-CVT and in understanding the mechanisms causing such toxicity. I joined the laboratory of Professor Xin Lu as a Postdoctoral Research Scientist in 2023. My research aims to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying CTR-CVT using a broad range of experimental approaches, from cardiac physiology to mass spectrometry and next-generation sequencing.

Background

My longstanding interest in the biology of the heart led me to focus on cardiovascular science during my BSc in Biomedical Sciences (King’s College London), and to read a dissertation on cardiac troponin under the supervision of Professor Michael Marber. I subsequently joined the laboratory of Professor Michael Shattock at the Rayne Institute (BHF Centre of Research Excellence, King’s College London) on a Physiological Society Research Studentship to explore mechanisms of cardiomyocyte Na⁺ regulation. I completed a DPhil in Cardiovascular Science in 2021 on a British Heart Foundation 4-Year PhD Studentship at the University of Oxford with Professor Pawel Swietach, co-supervised by Professor Nicola Smart, investigating the effects of dysregulated propionate metabolism on cardiac physiology. I continued thereafter with Professor Swietach as a Postdoctoral Research Scientist working on cardiac epigenetics with Professor Thomas Milne at the MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine (Propionic Acidemia Foundation) followed by novel targeting strategies for the heart (EVOX therapeutics). I received local and international awards for my doctoral and postdoctoral research on propionate, including a Young Investigator Award from the European Society of Cardiology (Frontiers in Cardiovascular Biomedicine 2022).

Other Activities

In addition to my research activities, I teach undergraduates as a Stipendiary Lecturer in Medicine at Trinity College. I lecture undergraduate medical students at Oxford about cardiac hypertrophy and the cell biology of myocardial ischaemia. I also act as a laboratory supervisor for FHS research projects and am an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.