Seong-Min Kim, PhD

Dr. Kim received her Ph.D. from the University of Chicago where she developed a strong passion for skin immunology. During her Ph.D. research in the laboratory of Dr. Aaron Esser-Kahn, she investigated the mechanism of skin sensitization, focusing on the interaction between target proteins and chemical allergens that cause skin inflammation. While working on her project, she realized that most inflammatory skin diseases involved activation of different types of skin-resident cells, as well as crosstalk between the immune and the nervous system. This realization led her to pursue further research training in the Department of Dermatology at Northwestern School of Medicine, under the guidance of Dr. Amy Paller.

As a postdoctoral researcher in Dr. Paller’s laboratory, Dr. Kim’s focused her research on the impact of obesity on psoriasis exacerbation. Her key findings include the identification of reduced regulatory T cell (Tregs) frequencies and increased IL-17A-producing T cell frequencies in the skin of obese mice with psoriasis, which correlated with worsened clinical outcomes. This marked disruption is improved upon administering adiponectin receptor agonists. Throughout her postdoctoral training, Dr. Kim also dedicated her time to mentoring undergraduate students and gap-year medical students, fostering their growth and understanding of scientific research.

Dr. Kim has taken on her next phase of career as a research scientist in the biotechnology industry, driven by her new goal to contribute as a drug developer in addressing the needs of patients with immunological or autoimmune diseases.

Key publications:

S Kim*, H Liu*, K Kevin, J Im, N Kaplan, A Paller. “Adiponectin mimetic ADP355 can reduce obesity-induced  psoriasis exacerbation by PPAR-γ pathway.” (manuscript in preparation)

S Kim, B Studnitzer, A P Esser-Kahn. “Heat shock protein (HSP) 90’s mechanistic role in contact  hypersensitivity.” Journal of Immunology. 2021; 208(12): 2622-2631.

F Kimani*, S Kim*, R Steinhardt, A P Esser-Kahn. “Correlating the structure and reactivity of a contact  allergen, DNCB, and its analogs to their sensitization potential.” Bioorganics & Medicinal Chemistry. 2019;  27: 2985-2990. *co-first authors contributed equally to this work