Alex Kim, M.D., Ph.D.

Biography

Alex Kim, M.D., Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center. He specializes in complex gastrointestinal oncology and advanced cancer management for appendiceal cancer, colorectal cancer, gastric cancer, and mesothelioma.

Dr. Kim earned his medical degree and a doctoral degree in cellular and molecular biology at the University of Michigan. He completed a residency in general surgery at the University of Michigan Health System and received advanced training through a surgical oncology fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

Certified by the American Board of Surgery in general surgery and complex general surgical oncology, he joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2024.

Dr. Kim specializes in a complex procedure known as cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), which involves resection of any abdominal organs containing cancer and infusing the belly cavity with a heated chemotherapy bath. He is also active in clinical research and runs a basic and translational research lab focused on understanding the mechanisms of colon cancer metastasis to the abdominal cavity.

He belongs to the American College of Surgeons, the American Medical Association, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the Americas Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association, the Association for Academic Surgery, the Society of Surgical Oncology, and the Society of Asian Academic Surgeons, for which he serves on the Publications Committee. He is an ad hoc reviewer for a wide selection of academic journals, including Cancer, JAMA Surgery, and Frontiers in Oncology.

Dr. Kim has delivered numerous presentations, contributed to books including Cancer Metastasis Through the Lymphovascular System and Clinical Scenarios in Surgery, and published many academic articles related to his areas of expertise.

Personal Note

When he’s not at work, Dr. Kim enjoys snowboarding and playing and listening to ’90s rock music.