MEDIA RELEASE__Ohio Northern University’s College of Arts & Sciences will welcome back distinguished alumna Dr. Carla Kim, BS ’97, for the 2026 Keiser Distinguished Lectureship in Life Sciences on Tuesday, March 24, at 7:30 p.m. The lecture, which takes place in the Freed Center for the Performing Arts, is free and open to the public.

Kim, a renowned researcher in lung stem cells, is Professor of Pediatrics in the Field of Regenerative Medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital and Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School. Her presentation is titled “Lung Organoids: Windows to Mechanism and Therapy of Lung Disease and Cancer.”

Kim’s laboratory has pioneered the use of stem cell biology approaches in the study of adult lung progenitor cells and lung cancer. Her lab created three-dimensional co-culture organoid systems that allow visualization of the formation of airway- and alveolar-like structures from lung epithelial progenitor cells as well as new organoid culture methods to model the early stages of lung cancer. Essentially, Kim’s work uses "mini-organs" grown in a lab to better understand how lung diseases develop and how to treat them more effectively.

In addition to her many research responsibilities, Kim also serves as the Director of Basic Science Career Development for the Boston Children’s Hospital’s Office of Faculty Development and Director of Career Enhancement for Faculty in Science at Harvard Medical School.

ONU’s Keiser Distinguished Lectureship in Life Sciences, named in honor of Terry D. Keiser, BSEd '64, brings nationally prominent life sciences scholars to Ohio Northern's campus each year to lecture and interact with students.