Colin Y. Kim

still can’t believe it— honored and thrilled to be named an @HHMINEWS #HannaGrayFellows ! 🎉 huge thanks to my incredible mentors and friends at @MCB_Harvard @MITdeptofBE @WhiteheadInst @UCSB_CCS who supported me throughout & @rnett42 for being the best advisor I could ask for!

How did octopuses evolve novel traits? Rishav Mitra, Richard Han, Trey Scott, et al serendipitously discover a unique ribosome adaptation that increases the accuracy of protein synthesis and evolved alongside their elaborate nervous systems. biorxiv.org/content/10.648…

The third annual Salk Rising Stars Symposium took place last month, bringing together 12 outstanding postdoctoral researchers from across the country to share cutting-edge discoveries spanning cancer, neuroscience, biophysics, and plant biology. Created to recognize emerging scientific leaders who are making foundational discoveries in their fields while contributing to meaningful societal impact beyond the lab, the symposium provided a dynamic forum for scientific exchange, collaboration, and mentorship. Participants presented their research, connected with fellow innovators across disciplines, and engaged one-on-one with Salk faculty to build lasting professional relationships and explore future opportunities. Over two inspiring days, the program sparked thoughtful conversations, new connections, and a shared excitement for the future of science. Learn more about the Salk Rising Stars Symposium and Salk’s Community & Engagement initiatives: salk.edu/about/our-comm…

In our new preprint, we report how clubmoss plants use an ancient biosynthetic pathway (>300 million years old!) to make huperzine A, an alkaloid with potential as a treatment for Alzheimer's disease. Great work by Eric Fields and @cyhkim! biorxiv.org/content/10.648…

Pablo Villar et al discover male octopus mating arms are sensory organs used to find females, navigate internally to the oviduct & deliver sperm. From behavior to structure, these findings offer a framework for how sensory systems shape reproduction & species barriers

Ryan Nett Awarded 2025–27 George W. Merck Fellowship #biochemistry mcb.harvard.edu/department/new… @rnett42 @NBellono @BalskusLab @Harvard @MicrobiomeTcell @JeeyunC

Wendy Valencia-Montoya and team uncover thermal infrared as one of the most ancient pollination signals uniting plants and animals. From the field to single proteins. @wendyssae

Cool new story by Colin Kim @cyhkim (current postdoc in my group) from his time as a grad student in Jing-Ke Weng's lab. Great example of combining plant genomics and biochemistry to understand enzyme evolution/neofunctionalization! science.org/doi/10.1126/sc…

Special thanks to @davidwkastner, @KulikGroup, @EdwinNNeumann, Andrew, Mike, Jocelyn, and Jing-Ke — your help made this project such a joy to lead! 😊

This 'stepwise' evolutionary journey provides insights into how plant enzymes acquire specialized functions and offers blueprints for designing biocatalysts for C–H functionalization. Check it out here for more!🌱science.org/doi/10.1126/sc…

How does a common enzyme become a metabolic innovator? Our story about how a rare plant halogenase evolved in the common moonseed vine is featured on the cover of @ScienceAdvances today!

Check out our new paper, out today in @NatureBiotech! We present SPEAR, a modular system for biomolecular cargo delivery with bacterial "nanosyringes". Thanks to my advisor, @zhangf, and amazing undergraduate (now graduate) student @vicy_ang nature.com/articles/s4158…

Ryan Nett Named Pew Scholar for Innovative Research on Plant-Derived Molecules @rnett42 @RachelleGaudet @mlgredler @DulacLab @RivasElenaRivas @HekstraLab @JeeyunC @MicrobiomeTcell @VMurthyLab @MaxPrigozhin @NBellono @fleshball @Harvard @pewresearch mcb.harvard.edu/department/new…

Today in @Nature we report a systematic strategy to activate & identify gene sets in plants. We identify 8 new genes from the yew tree's Taxol biosynthetic pathway, enabling us to engineer tobacco with 17- & 20-gene pathways to Taxol precursors baccatin III and dBz-deoxy-Taxol. a thread 1/x.. nature.com/articles/s4158… With amazing coauthors @Sattely_lab @ctliu629 @fordycelab @Stanford_ChEMH @StanfordEng

Recognizing Excellence in Mentorship: 2025 MCB Mentorship Award Recipients @claireangj @karalmckinley @cyhkim @LabWhipple @rnett42 @RachelleGaudet @HarvardGSAS @HSCRB @Harvard mcb.harvard.edu/department/new…

@peiwei_chen Congrats Peiwei!!

deeply humbled to receive the Larry Sandler Award, named after the father of meiotic drive I'd like to think this award belongs to my mentors, colleagues, lab mates, and the wonderful fly community that has supported me & so many others in their journeys #basicscienceFTW

Postdoc Spotlight: Colin Kim @cyhkim @rnett42 @RachelleGaudet @zombieflied @NBellono @LoranzieR @JingKeWeng1 @AmgenFoundation mcb.harvard.edu/department/new…

Postdoc Spotlight: Loranzie Rogers [Bellono Lab] mcb.harvard.edu/department/new… @LoranzieR @NBellono @RachelleGaudet @zombieflied @rnett42

Meet the newly named #HannaGrayFellows! 👋 “HHMI is committed to investing in scientists who dare to tackle some of the biggest challenges of our lifetime,” said HHMI Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer Leslie Vosshall. “Our Hanna Gray Fellows are not only exceptional scientists, but they are also leaders who have proven their dedication to creating a more inclusive future for science.” Read more about the Hanna Gray Fellows and their work: hhmi.org/news/hhmi-name…

Congratulations to BE PhD Program alum Colin Kim @cyhkim