---
title: ABclonal Knowledge Base | Kin Leung (14)
description: Kin Leung is the Scientific Content Marketing Manager at ABclonal. Kin has a background in immunology and cancer biology. He has enjoyed working with many different technologies and living systems, and is always eager to learn more about the natural world. Kin enjoys talking science and sports, including baseball and the Chicago Cubs. (14)
---
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[](https://blog.abclonal.com/blog/abclonal-in-action-updates-and-advances-in-autophagy)
Jun 10, 2022, 12:00:00 PM by [Kin Leung](https://blog.abclonal.com/blog/author/kin-leung)
## [ABclonal in Action: Autophagy as a Therapeutic Target](https://blog.abclonal.com/blog/abclonal-in-action-updates-and-advances-in-autophagy)
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Every now and then when I get hungry, I joke that my stomach is about to digest itself. For the longest time, human science was unaware that our cells could literally eat itself (or more precisely, parts of itself) as well! First described in the 1960s by Christian de Duve ([who won the Nobel Prize for discovering the lysosome](https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1974/press-release/)), the term autophagy derives from Greek words combined to mean “self-eating” and describes a process by which the cell degrades large components and organelles in a distinct mechanism. 1-3 The phenomenon was not studied extensively until the 1990s, when Yoshinori Ohsumi performed a series of groundbreaking experiments to determine the underlying mechanisms of autophagy, an achievement for which he was awarded the [2016 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine](https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2016/press-release/). Ohsumi’s work has led to an explosion of research that has precipitated a greater understanding of the role played by cellular digestion, degradation, and recycling pathways in human health and disease.
[Read More](https://blog.abclonal.com/blog/abclonal-in-action-updates-and-advances-in-autophagy)
---
[](https://blog.abclonal.com/blog/traffic-management-the-indispensable-vesicular-transport-system)
Jun 3, 2022, 12:00:00 PM by [Kin Leung](https://blog.abclonal.com/blog/author/kin-leung)
## [Traffic Management: The Indispensable Vesicular Transport System](https://blog.abclonal.com/blog/traffic-management-the-indispensable-vesicular-transport-system)
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When I taught high school biology, a favorite part of the curriculum was cellular structures and functions. I set up an activity suggested by other experienced biology teachers that was based on the “[Cell City](https://www.ellieshipman.com/portfolio/cell-city),” a learning analogy where students would create an artwork of a city with the mitochondrion as a power plant and a vacuole as a lake. (Figure 1) I wish I saved their very creative projects, but I distinctly remember one group used the [Chicago Transit Authority’s elevated train system map](https://www.transitchicago.com/maps/) to represent the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), a very clever use of the analogy and a nod to city pride. It was also the first time these students really thought about vesicular transport, although they didn't fully understand its importance.
[Read More](https://blog.abclonal.com/blog/traffic-management-the-indispensable-vesicular-transport-system)
---
[](https://blog.abclonal.com/blog/plant-power-plant-chemicals-and-proteins-for-human-health)
Jun 1, 2022, 2:13:47 PM by [Kin Leung](https://blog.abclonal.com/blog/author/kin-leung)
## [Plant Power: Plant Chemicals and Proteins for Human Health](https://blog.abclonal.com/blog/plant-power-plant-chemicals-and-proteins-for-human-health)
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When I was growing up in Hong Kong, and even after I came to the United States, my parents and grandparents would periodically give me [ginseng](https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-1000/panax-ginseng) beverages and soups, which was not always pleasant due to the bitter taste. As a result, I don’t think I really appreciated the benefits of ginseng, both scientifically confirmed and perceived. It is fun and informative to read about the myriad studies of natural plant extracts and how they can improve our well-being. Many folks like to drink herbal teas or use plant-derived supplements such as aloe vera lotions, so maybe this is good incentive to grow more of these beneficial plants such that they can provide health products as well as some clean oxygen for us to breathe!
[Read More](https://blog.abclonal.com/blog/plant-power-plant-chemicals-and-proteins-for-human-health)
---
[](https://blog.abclonal.com/blog/everything-you-need-to-know-about-tumor-immunology-and-ccr8)
May 26, 2022, 11:40:53 AM by [Kin Leung](https://blog.abclonal.com/blog/author/kin-leung)
## [Everything You Need to Know About Tumor Immunology and CCR8](https://blog.abclonal.com/blog/everything-you-need-to-know-about-tumor-immunology-and-ccr8)
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With a background in both immunology and cancer biology, I’ve always had a fascination with the interplay between the body’s immune system and any tumors that might pop up. Originally, it made sense that the immune system would actively seek out and destroy cancerous cells, but the emerging consensus is that the interactions between cancers and host immunity is far more complex. In addition to growing new blood vessels and [reprogramming metabolic processes](https://blog.abclonal.com/blog/why-the-circadian-rhythm-matters-in-biology), there appears to be some imbalance between avoiding immune cells while also promoting tumor-infiltrating inflammatory cells to promote its growth. 1 (Figure 1) Trying to dissect this apparent contradictory relationship between tumors and host immunity remains a hot topic.
[Read More](https://blog.abclonal.com/blog/everything-you-need-to-know-about-tumor-immunology-and-ccr8)
---
[](https://blog.abclonal.com/blog/no-rash-decisions-a-novel-treatment-for-genetic-skin-disorders)
May 20, 2022, 12:00:00 PM by [Kin Leung](https://blog.abclonal.com/blog/author/kin-leung)
## [No Rash Decisions: Novel Treatment For Genetic Skin Disorder (UPDATE)](https://blog.abclonal.com/blog/no-rash-decisions-a-novel-treatment-for-genetic-skin-disorders)
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Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, I have been washing my hands with vigilance to prevent the spread of germs. As a result, the skin on my hands have become calloused on some parts and mostly dry, with cuts and slight bleeding on occasion. I thought this was inconvenient, but when I learned about children with a rare genetic skin disease, I stopped feeling sorry for myself and dug a bit deeper into their plight. After all, my skin issues are just due to excessive hand washing (which everyone should be doing anyway!); these poor kids have to live with this painful disease, known as [dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa](https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/condition/dystrophic-epidermolysis-bullosa/), for their entire lives.
[Read More](https://blog.abclonal.com/blog/no-rash-decisions-a-novel-treatment-for-genetic-skin-disorders)
---
[](https://blog.abclonal.com/blog/designer-genes-whats-next-for-crispr)
May 13, 2022, 12:00:00 PM by [Kin Leung](https://blog.abclonal.com/blog/author/kin-leung)
## [Designer Genes: What's Next For CRISPR?](https://blog.abclonal.com/blog/designer-genes-whats-next-for-crispr)
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Towards the end of my doctoral research, I first heard the rumblings of an acronym termed “CRISPR” that was starting to gather momentum. By the time I earned my doctorate, the applications that were discussed in both theory and in practice accelerated to the point that, while I didn’t fully understand the mechanism of the factors involved, I was certain that the discovery and re-engineering of this prokaryotic phenomenon would eventually be recognized with a Nobel Prize. Less than a decade after their first publications on the topic, 1, 2 Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna were awarded the [Nobel Prize in Chemistry](https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/2020/press-release/) “for the development of a method for genome editing,” which sounds a lot less important than it actually is!
[Read More](https://blog.abclonal.com/blog/designer-genes-whats-next-for-crispr)
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