Kim Orth, Ph.D.
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Kim Orth, Ph.D., obtained a B.S. in biochemistry from Texas A&M University, followed by an M.S. in biochemistry from UCLA. After obtaining her Ph.D. in biological chemistry in Joe Sambrook's lab at UT Southwestern Medical Center, she moved with her husband to the University of Michigan, where she completed multiple postdocs over the course of 7 years and became a working mother of 2.
During these postdocs, she added several tools to her scientific toolbox in the fields of cancer genetics, apoptosis and cell signaling. She also discovered the field of host-pathogen interactions during her final postdoc in Jack Dixon's lab. In 2001, Orth started her own lab on host-pathogen interactions at UT Southwestern Medical Center in the Department of Molecular Biology. Her lab has worked on effectors from Yersinia and Vibrio and uncovered many mechanisms that bacteria use to subvert host signaling pathways, including the discovery of 2 novel post translational modifications: YopJ Ser/Thr Acetylation and VopS AMPylation. For the latter, the Orth lab expanded their programs to fly and mouse models that have provided insight into human diseases, including Type I diabetes and neuromuscular disorders.
Orth is currently a full professor at UT Southwestern Medical Center, an investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, a member of the American Academy of Microbiology, a member of the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
She has received a variety of prestigious awards, including the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Young Investigator Award, Burroughs Wellcome Fund Investigators in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Diseases, ASBMB Merck Award and election to the American Academy of Microbiology, American Association for the Advancement of Science, ASBMB (American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology) Fellowship and to the National Academy of Sciences.
During these postdocs, she added several tools to her scientific toolbox in the fields of cancer genetics, apoptosis and cell signaling. She also discovered the field of host-pathogen interactions during her final postdoc in Jack Dixon's lab. In 2001, Orth started her own lab on host-pathogen interactions at UT Southwestern Medical Center in the Department of Molecular Biology. Her lab has worked on effectors from Yersinia and Vibrio and uncovered many mechanisms that bacteria use to subvert host signaling pathways, including the discovery of 2 novel post translational modifications: YopJ Ser/Thr Acetylation and VopS AMPylation. For the latter, the Orth lab expanded their programs to fly and mouse models that have provided insight into human diseases, including Type I diabetes and neuromuscular disorders.
Orth is currently a full professor at UT Southwestern Medical Center, an investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, a member of the American Academy of Microbiology, a member of the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
She has received a variety of prestigious awards, including the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Young Investigator Award, Burroughs Wellcome Fund Investigators in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Diseases, ASBMB Merck Award and election to the American Academy of Microbiology, American Association for the Advancement of Science, ASBMB (American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology) Fellowship and to the National Academy of Sciences.