Ken Huaijin Loh, PhD, BSc
Assistant Professor in Comparative MedicineDownloadHi-Res Photo
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Comparative Medicine
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Yale University
PO Box 27391
West Haven, CT 06516-7392
United States
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Titles
Assistant Professor in Comparative Medicine
Biography
Ken Loh is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Comparative Medicine in the Institute for Biomolecular Design and Discovery at Yale University’s West Campus. A native of Singapore, he received his B.S. in Chemistry from Harvey Mudd College in 2009 and earned his Ph.D in Chemistry with Alice Ting at MIT in 2016, developing chemical-enzymatic methodologies for tagging proteins in cells. Ken next received postdoctoral training with Jeffrey Friedman at Rockefeller University, studying the role of leptin in its regulation of sympathetic nerves in the fat organ, and joined the faculty at Yale in August of 2022. His lab is interested in studying brain-body interactions at a molecular length scale, using tools in chemical biology.
Last Updated on January 30, 2023.
Appointments
Comparative Medicine
Assistant ProfessorPrimary
Other Departments & Organizations
Education & Training
- NIH Pathway to Independence K99 Fellow
- The Rockefeller University (2022)
- Helen Hay Whitney Postdoctoral Fellow
- The Rockefeller University (2021)
- PhD
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Chemistry (2016)
- BSc
- Harvey Mudd College, Chemistry (2009)
Research
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Overview
Medical Research Interests
Autonomic Nervous System; Biochemistry; Diabetes Mellitus; Neurobiology; Obesity; Peripheral Nervous System; Proteomics; Synapses
Public Health Interests
Metabolism
ORCID
0000-0002-2901-0750- View Lab Website
Loh Laboratory
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Frequent collaborators of Ken Huaijin Loh's published research.
Publications Timeline
A big-picture view of Ken Huaijin Loh's research output by year.
Research Interests
Research topics Ken Huaijin Loh is interested in exploring.
Boby Mathew
Daniel McQuaid
Jeremy B. Jacox, MD, PhD
Mandar Deepak Muzumdar, MD
Rebecca Starble
Richard Kibbey, MD, PhD
16Publications
1,924Citations
Proteomics
Autonomic Nervous System
Publications
2026
Beta cell-derived cholecystokinin drives obesity-associated pancreatic adenocarcinoma development
Garcia CC, Venkat A, McQuaid DC, Agabiti SS, Tong A, Mathew B, Cardone RL, Starble R, Ruiz CF, Zheng C, Sogunro A, Jacox JB, Loh KH, Kibbey RG, Krishnaswamy S, Muzumdar MD. Beta cell-derived cholecystokinin drives obesity-associated pancreatic adenocarcinoma development. Nature Communications 2026 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-69821-2.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchThis study investigates how beta cell-derived cholecystokinin drives obesity-associated pancreatic cancer development, showing that targeting endocrine signaling could prevent tumor progression in obesity-related contexts.Beta cell-derived cholecystokinin drives obesity-associated pancreatic adenocarcinoma development
Garcia C, Venkat A, McQuaid D, Agabiti S, Tong A, Mathew B, Cardone R, Starble R, Ruiz C, Zheng C, Sogunro A, Jacox J, Loh K, Kibbey R, Krishnaswamy S, Muzumdar M. Beta cell-derived cholecystokinin drives obesity-associated pancreatic adenocarcinoma development. Nature Communications 2026 PMID: 41760660, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-69821-2.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsPancreatic adenocarcinomaImmature B cellsCell-derived tumorsCell secretionCell transcriptional statesSingle-cell RNA sequencingHost metabolic statePancreatic adenocarcinoma developmentBona fide driversExperimental lineagesPeptide hormone cholecystokininTranscriptional statesB cellsCholecystokinin expressionAdenocarcinoma developmentCCK signalingSecretion of insulinHormone cholecystokininCell expressionRNA sequencingTumor formationCholecystokininPDAC developmentPDAC progressionIslet beta
2025
Parkinson’s disease and metabolic disorders, understanding their shared co-morbidity through the autonomic nervous system
Pham T, Schelling R, Loh K. Parkinson’s disease and metabolic disorders, understanding their shared co-morbidity through the autonomic nervous system. Advances In Genetics 2025, 113: 199-247. PMID: 40409798, PMCID: PMC12707340, DOI: 10.1016/bs.adgen.2025.02.001.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsCentral nervous systemMetabolic disordersSubstantia nigraNervous systemParkinson's diseasePD progressionDopaminergic neuronal lossPeripheral nervous systemAutonomic nervous systemAutonomic dysfunctionDiabetes mellitusProgression of PDPeripheral organsDopaminergic neuronsMetabolic dysfunctionMetabolic dysregulationTherapeutic strategiesNonmotor dysfunctionsCo-morbidityDysfunctionBidirectional relationshipNeuronal lossMetabolic diseasesDiseaseDisorders
2023
Unannotated microprotein EMBOW regulates the interactome and chromatin and mitotic functions of WDR5
Chen Y, Su H, Zhao J, Na Z, Jiang K, Bacchiocchi A, Loh K, Halaban R, Wang Z, Cao X, Slavoff S. Unannotated microprotein EMBOW regulates the interactome and chromatin and mitotic functions of WDR5. Cell Reports 2023, 42: 113145. PMID: 37725512, PMCID: PMC10629662, DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113145.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsG2/M phaseWD40-repeat protein WDR5Mitotic spindle lengthMultiple interaction partnersM phaseOff-target genesLate G1 phaseWDR5 interactionMitotic functionsH3K4me3 levelsWDR5Interaction partnersMultiple proteinsExpression maximaCell cycleSpindle lengthG1 phaseGenesCell proliferationOff-target bindingBindingInteractomeChromatinTranscriptionKIF2A.Correction: Chemical labeling and proteomics for characterization of unannotated small and alternative open reading frame-encoded polypeptides
Chen Y, Cao X, Loh K, Slavoff S. Correction: Chemical labeling and proteomics for characterization of unannotated small and alternative open reading frame-encoded polypeptides. Biochemical Society Transactions 2023, 51: 1747-1748. PMID: 37584326, DOI: 10.1042/bst20221074_cor.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricChemical labeling and proteomics for characterization of unannotated small and alternative open reading frame-encoded polypeptides
Chen Y, Cao X, Loh K, Slavoff S. Chemical labeling and proteomics for characterization of unannotated small and alternative open reading frame-encoded polypeptides. Biochemical Society Transactions 2023, 51: 1071-1082. PMID: 37171061, PMCID: PMC10317152, DOI: 10.1042/bst20221074.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsChemical labelingAlternative open reading framesOpen reading frameLimited sequence homologyMammalian genomesGene classesProtein domainsQuantitative proteomicsReading frameSequence homologyBiological roleProteomic discoveryMolecular levelSmORFsCell proliferationProteomicsInteractomeGenomeSpecific propertiesExperimental techniquesLabelingHomologyPolypeptideProteinFunctionalization
2022
Mapping subcellular localizations of unannotated microproteins and alternative proteins with MicroID
Na Z, Dai X, Zheng SJ, Bryant CJ, Loh KH, Su H, Luo Y, Buhagiar AF, Cao X, Baserga SJ, Chen S, Slavoff SA. Mapping subcellular localizations of unannotated microproteins and alternative proteins with MicroID. Molecular Cell 2022, 82: 2900-2911.e7. PMID: 35905735, PMCID: PMC9662605, DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2022.06.035.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsSubcellular localizationProximity biotinylationSmall open reading framesAlternative proteinsOpen reading frameHigh-throughput technologiesSubnuclear organellesCanonical proteinsRRNA transcriptionSubcellular compartmentsReading frameProteogenomic identificationProtein compositionAmino acidsMicroproteinsProteinBiotinylationLocalizationTurboIDTranscriptionOrganellesMouse modelPolypeptideNucleoliExpression
2020
A leptin–BDNF pathway regulating sympathetic innervation of adipose tissue
Wang P, Loh K, Wu M, Morgan D, Schneeberger M, Yu X, Chi J, Kosse C, Kim D, Rahmouni K, Cohen P, Friedman J. A leptin–BDNF pathway regulating sympathetic innervation of adipose tissue. Nature 2020, 583: 839-844. PMID: 32699414, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2527-y.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsPro-opiomelanocortin neuronsEffects of leptinChronic leptin treatmentAgouti-related peptideSympathetic innervationAdipose tissueOb/ob miceLeptin treatment of ob/ob miceReduction of sympathetic innervationTreatment of ob/ob miceHypothalamic arcuate nucleusDiet-induced obese miceSympathetic innervation of adipose tissueInnervation of adipose tissueSympathetic nervous systemChronic leptin administrationAdipose tissue functionParaventricular nucleusArcuate nucleusLeptin administrationLeptin receptorLeptin signalingObese miceLeptinFunctional defects
2017
PROTEOME-SCALE MOLECULAR NETWORKS MECHANISTICALLY LINK ALPHA-SYNUCLEIN TO DIVERSE GENETIC RISK FACTORS FOR PARKINSONISM (P1.004)
Khurana V, Peng J, Chung C, Fanning S, Tardiff D, Bartels T, Yi S, Sahni N, Loh K, Costanzo M, Luis B, Schondorf D, Deleidi M, Boone C, Fraenkel E, Hill D, Vidal M, Berger B, Lindquist S. PROTEOME-SCALE MOLECULAR NETWORKS MECHANISTICALLY LINK ALPHA-SYNUCLEIN TO DIVERSE GENETIC RISK FACTORS FOR PARKINSONISM (P1.004). Neurology 2017, 88 DOI: 10.1212/wnl.88.16_supplement.p1.004.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsIn Situ Peroxidase Labeling and Mass-Spectrometry Connects Alpha-Synuclein Directly to Endocytic Trafficking and mRNA Metabolism in Neurons
Chung CY, Khurana V, Yi S, Sahni N, Loh KH, Auluck PK, Baru V, Udeshi ND, Freyzon Y, Carr SA, Hill DE, Vidal M, Ting AY, Lindquist S. In Situ Peroxidase Labeling and Mass-Spectrometry Connects Alpha-Synuclein Directly to Endocytic Trafficking and mRNA Metabolism in Neurons. Cell Systems 2017, 4: 242-250.e4. PMID: 28131823, PMCID: PMC5578869, DOI: 10.1016/j.cels.2017.01.002.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetric
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
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Honors
honor 2025 Collaborative Sciences Award
04/01/2025National AwardAmerican Heart AssociationDetailsUnited Stateshonor 2024 ORAU Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award
05/29/2024National AwardORAUDetailsUnited Stateshonor Klingenstein-Simons Fellowship Award in Neuroscience
07/01/2023National AwardEsther A. & Joseph Klingenstein Fundhonor NIH Pathway to Independence Award K99/R00
08/11/2021National AwardNIH/NIDDKhonor Helen Hay Whitney Postdoctoral Fellowship
04/01/2018National AwardHelen Hay Whitney Foundation
Teaching & Mentoring
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Mentoring
Rebecca Schelling
Graduate student2024 - PresentAngela To
Graduate student2024 - PresentZhongjie Wang
Postdoc2024 - PresentVinayak Juvekar
Associate Research Scientist2024 - Present
Willing and Available to Mentor
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Mailing Address
Yale University
PO Box 27391
West Haven, CT 06516-7392
United States
Administrative Support
Locations
Institute of Biomolecular Design and Discovery
Academic Office
West Campus Molecular Innovations Center
600 West Campus Drive, Rm 312D
West Haven, CT 06516
Business Office
203.737.3870