Expert in biotechnology specialty joins UC Davis

Kit S. Lam, an expert in the leading-edge biotechnology field of combinatorial chemistry, has joined the staff of the UC Davis Medical Center and School of Medicine.

Lam accepted a position effective July 1999 as professor of internal medicine and chief of the Division of Hematology/Oncology.

Prior to coming to UC Davis, Lam was an associate professor of Medicine, Microbiology and Immunology at the Arizona Cancer Center at the University of Arizona. He received his BA from the University of Texas at Austin, his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin and his medical degree from Stanford University. He completed his internal residency and a hematology/oncology fellowship at the University of Arizona Medical Center.

Lam's specific area of interest is peptides, fragments of protein consisting of two or more amino acids linked by chemical bonds. While at the Arizona Cancer Center, Lam developed a simple, rapid method for creating a chemical library that contains more than a million different peptide compounds. These compounds can be tested to see if they bind to specific receptors on cancer cells. Peptides that bind to cancer cells can then be analyzed and synthesized into more effective, less toxic cancer drugs.

His other research interests include leukemia, lymphoma and technology development. In 1997, he was named the Stolhman Scholar of the Leukemia Society of America. He also received the Cathy Award at the Chinese Peptide Symposium in 1998.

Lam, who has both Ph.D. and M.D. degrees, divides his time between research and clinical practice. He will be working closely with UC Davis scientists in developing new cancer treatments.