Chen Yuan Kam, Ph.D.
- Assistant Professor, Dermatology
Research Areas
Chen Yuan Kam, Ph.D., investigates the cellular mechanisms that govern how blood vessels develop, adapt and repair themselves over time. Using advanced imaging techniques, he tracks individual blood vessels in real time to uncover the dynamics and cell behaviors that regulate the vasculature in both healthy and diseased states.
Kam is a cell and developmental biologist who studies the mammalian vascular system using mouse skin as a model. He developed a longitudinal imaging platform utilizing multiphoton microscopy that enables tracking of individual blood vessel cells over minutes, days or even weeks to understand the behaviors of these cells within their native tissue environment. Leveraging this 4D imaging modality, Kam has identified key cellular dynamics that orchestrate the postnatal maturation and homeostatic maintenance of the murine cutaneous vascular network in response to injury.
His current research focuses on understanding the mechanisms that dictate the development of vascular malformations — anomalies that arise as a result of inherited or somatic mutations in endothelial cells — and investigating the role of tissue-resident endothelial progenitors in wound healing and vascular regeneration.
Research Projects
- Investigating the mechanisms that regulate vascular, or blood vessel, maturation and maintenance to ensure proper circulation and tissue health
- Identifying the cellular dynamics underlying the development of vascular malformations, or abnormal blood vessel structures
- Understanding the regulation of endothelial progenitor cells Descendants of stem cells that can further differentiate to produce one or more specialized cell types. They are more limited than pluripotent stem cells in that they cannot self-renew indefinitely and can only produce a limited range of specific cell types. For example, neural progenitor cells can only produce neurons. progenitor cells Descendants of stem cells that can further differentiate to produce one or more specialized cell types. They are more limited than pluripotent stem cells in that they cannot self-renew indefinitely and can only produce a limited range of specific cell types. For example, neural progenitor cells can only produce neurons. in vascular repair and regeneration
- Characterizing the age-dependent mechanisms that affect the body’s ability to form new blood vessels after injury
-
Post-doctoral Fellowship
- Cell and Developmental Biology, Yale University, 2024
Degree
- Ph.D., Cell Biology, Northwestern University, 2018