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The Kory Lab is studying nutrient transport and metabolic compartments in cells, like mitochondria, and their roles in health and disease, such as inborn errors of metabolism, inflammatory and neurological diseases, cancer, and diabetes.

Email nkory[at]hsph.harvard.edu

Phone 617-432-0044

Location

655 Huntington Ave
Building 1, Room 512
Boston, MA 02115

Meet Our Team

Nora Kory, PhD

Assistant Professor of Molecular Metabolism

Dr. Kory’s research focuses on how cellular organelles including mitochondria –cellular powerhouses and biosynthetic factories– exchange metabolites with the rest of the cell while maintaining their unique chemical environment. Motivated by the consequences of altered metabolism and mitochondrial dysfunction on numerous diseases, Dr. Kory’s overarching goals are to understand how alterations in mitochondrial transport influence aging and age-related diseases and to leverage this knowledge for therapeutic development. Her laboratory combines functional genomics, metabolite profiling, imaging, cell biology, and biochemistry approaches to address these questions at the molecular and physiological levels and use transport proteins as tools to interrogate metabolic and signaling pathways to understand how mitochondria perform their roles in maintaining metabolic homeostasis.

Dr. Kory was born in Heidelberg, Germany. She received her BSc and MSc degrees in Chemistry and Biochemistry from Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich. During her PhD at Yale University, she focused on mechanisms of how cells store fat. Her research identified factors that determine the lipid droplet protein composition. During her postdoctoral studies at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Dr. Kory discovered elusive transport proteins responsible for bringing critical metabolites into mitochondria. Dr. Kory is the recipient of Pathway to Independence and R35 Maximizing Investigators’ Research Awards from the National Institutes of Health, and a Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award.

*If you would like to set a meeting with Dr. Kory, please contact Audrey Fox aufox[at]hsph.harvard.edu

Academic Profile

Dr. Kory’s Publications

Research Associate

Byungsoo is interested in metabolism and mitochondrial transport in diseases such as type 1 and type 2 diabetes. He completed his doctoral studies at Yonsei University and worked at Seoul National University Hospital as a research assistant professor. Byungsoo is recipient of a National Research Foundation grant through the Ministry of Science, South Korea.

Academic Profile

Dr. Kong’s Publications

Postdoctoral Fellows

Akshay has a Ph.D. in computational biology from BITS-Hyderabad, India with postdoctoral experience in biochemistry, molecular and structural biology from CSIR_CCMB, India and A*STAR Singapore. Apart from work , he enjoys playing chess, badminton, and cricket.

Academic Profile

Dr. Bhatnagar’s Publications

Academic Profile

Fiona is interested in cofactor metabolism and mitochondrial transport, and how alterations in such processes drive diseases such as cancer and neurological disorders. She worked at the Structural Genomic Consortium at Oxford before completing her doctoral studies at the University of Cambridge.

Academic Profile

Dr. Fitzpatrick’s Publications

Gabriela is interested in the metabolism and dysfunction of pancreatic b-cells during diabetes. She completed her master in Neurobiology and PhD in Biomedical Science at the National University of Mexico (UNAM). She enjoys dancing and swimming.

Academic Profile

Dr. Ramírez Hernández’s Publications

Sijie is from Singapore and received her Ph.D. from Nanyang Technological University. She will be in the Kory Lab for two years as part of the A*STAR International Fellowship program. She is interested in understanding the pathobiology of age-related brain disorders and spends her free time reading.

Academic Profile

Wen Han is from Singapore, and he completed his doctoral studies at the Nanyang Technological University. He is on an international fellowship and his research focus lies in deciphering the mitochondrial metabolite compartmentalization in the nervous system. He spends his free time reading and watching sports.

Research Assistant

Hannah is originally from Washington, D.C. She is an undergraduate student currently working towards an Honors in Biochemistry at Northeastern University. In her free time, she loves to ski moguls and bake bread.

Doctoral Student

Will is a rotation student who recently started his pursuit of a PhD here at the T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He graduated from Boston College in 2023 with degrees in biology and computer science, and is broadly interested in the role of metabolic dysfunction in disease. In his free time, he enjoys cooking new recipes, doing the NYT crossword, and golfing.

Visiting Graduate Students

Josiany received her bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from the Federal University of Espírito Santo in Brazil, as well as her master’s degree in Biotechnology. She is currently a PhD student in Biotechnology and joined the Kory Lab as a visiting graduate student. Her main interest is understanding mechanisms related to ovarian cancer chemoresistance. Outside of work, she enjoys practicing yoga, hiking, and spending time with her cats and family.

Luise is completing her master’s internship as a visiting graduate student, with a background in biomedical science from Leiden University and currently pursuing her MSc at the University of Amsterdam. She is interested in exploring the molecular mechanisms underlying human disease. Outside of the lab, Luise enjoys literature, hiking, and skiing.