Kentson Lam Lab
About the research
Kentson Lam, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine
Academic Profile | Clinical Profile
Kentson Lam, MD, PhD, is board certified in internal medicine, medical oncology, and hematology, with a special interest in hematologic malignancies (blood cancers). He specializes in the care of patients with myeloid malignancies and related blood disorders.
Dr. Lam is a physician-scientist who, in addition to caring for patients, runs a research program dedicated to the study of myeloid blood disorders. His focus is to discover new treatments for patients with blood cancers by exploiting pathways that help cancer cells maintain their protein quality, which collectively is referred to as the proteostasis network. He has published papers in Blood, Blood Cancer Journal, Leukemia, and others.
About the Lab
Dr. Lam’s lab investigates how leukemia and cancer stem cells survive treatment by relying on proteostasis, which is a network of pathways comprised of the cell’s protein quality‑control and stress‑response systems. Building on evidence that leukemia can activate backup pathways (such as autophagy and heat‑shock responses) when stressed, the lab develops strategies to disrupt these defenses and selectively target the cells that drive cancer promotion and relapse.