Seong A. Kang
Helped show that mTOR carries its own brakes: PRAS40 and DEPTOR, inhibitors encoded by the cell itself
Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, MIT · contributed to the Sabatini lab's PRAS40 and DEPTOR papers (2007–2009)
Portrait: LinkedIn
Seong Kang was part of the Whitehead Institute team in David Sabatini's lab that identified two of mTORC1's own endogenous brakes: PRAS40, an insulin-regulated inhibitor that binds raptor, and DEPTOR, an mTOR-binding protein that restrains both mTORC1 and mTORC2 and is selectively overexpressed in multiple myeloma.
That work, alongside the lab's 2009 ATP-competitive inhibitor studies, helped establish that mTORC1 is held in check by a layer of dedicated inhibitory subunits — not just activated by upstream signals — a theme that has since become central to understanding how cancers reactivate mTOR signalling.
The timeline below follows Kang's contributions gathered in this Atlas.
Milestones in the Atlas
| Year | Evidence | Study |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | M | PRAS40 is an insulin-regulated inhibitor of the mTORC1 protein kinase SAN2007 Co-authors the discovery of PRAS40 as an insulin-regulated inhibitor of the mTORC1 protein kinase. |
| 2009 | M | An ATP-competitive mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitor reveals rapamycin-resistant functions of mTORC1 THO2009 Co-authors the development of an ATP-competitive mTOR inhibitor that reveals rapamycin-resistant functions of mTORC1. |
| 2009 | M | DEPTOR is an mTOR inhibitor frequently overexpressed in multiple myeloma cells and required for their survival PET2009 Co-authors the discovery of DEPTOR, an mTOR inhibitor frequently overexpressed in multiple myeloma cells and required for their survival. |