Kim Failor
Division Head of Science
B.S., University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley.
Biography
Dr. Failor earned her B.S. in Cell and Structural Biology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and her Ph.D. in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California, Berkeley. While at UC Berkeley, she worked with Dr. Gary Firestone studying the steroid hormone regulation of cell signaling in mammary epithelium that controls the interaction between cells and the development of the mammary gland.
Dr. Failor also had the opportunity to teach several biology courses during graduate school, including both lecture and laboratory classes. Her work leading discussions and her dedication to her students in the course entitled, “Cell Biology,” earned her the Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor award in 2003. Kim also has experience preparing students for the Biological Sciences section of the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) for the The Princeton Review. During her years in graduate school, Dr. Failor also took part in biology-related community outreach programs, judging local high school science fairs, providing lab tours to incoming freshman undergraduates, and mentoring several students in primary research.
Dr. Failor joined EPGY OHS in 2007 as the Lead Biology Instructor and is currently the Division Head of Science. She has immensely enjoyed working with EPGY OHS students, developing the biology-related curriculum and seeing the expansion of the Laboratory Sciences department.
Courses Taught
AP Biology (OB010), AP Biology Lab (OHS Residential Summer Program at Stanford), Advanced Topics in Biological Research(OB011/12), and Health (OB001) . She previously taught Methodology of Science: Biology.
Publications
Failor KL, Desyatnikov Y, Finger LA, Firestone GL. 2007. Glucocorticoid-induced degradation of glycogen synthase kinase-3 protein is triggered by serum- and glucocorticoid-induced protein kinase and Akt signaling and controls beta-catenin dynamics and tight junction formation in mammary epithelial tumor cells. Mol Endocrinol. (10): 2403-15.
Buse P, Maiyar AC, Failor KL, Tran S, Leong ML, Firestone GL. 2007. The stimulus-dependent co-localization of serum- and glucocorticoid-regulated protein kinase (Sgk) and Erk/MAPK in mammary tumor cells involves the mutual interaction with the importin-alpha nuclear import protein. Exp Cell Res. 313 (15): 3261-75.
Guan Y, Rubenstein NM, Failor KL, Woo PL, Firestone GL. 2004. Glucocorticoids control beta-catenin protein expression and localization through distinct pathways that can be uncoupled by disruption of signaling events required for tight junction formation in rat mammary epithelial tumor cells. Mol Endocrinol. 18 (1): 214-27.