Dr. Kimura obtained her Ph.D. in chemistry at Hokkaido University in Sapporo, Japan. After postdoctoral studies at Queen 's University, Kingston, Ontario and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development as a visiting fellow, she moved to the Laboratory of Molecular Carcinogenesis at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Since 1996, she has been the Head of the Endocrinology Section in the Laboratory of Metabolism. Dr. Kimura’s research focuses on understanding the role of homeodomain transcription factor NKX2-1, a master transcription factor in thyroid development and a marker for lung adenocarcinoma in humans, and its downstream target, a novel cytokine, secretoglobin (SCGB) 3A2, in development, homeostasis, physiology, and pathogenesis of diseases, particularly cancers of the thyroid and lung. Dr. Kimura uses cell culture and mouse models, and various genetically engineered mouse lines to investigate these problems.