Brian S. Kim

Kim received his B.S. in chemistry with honors from Haverford College in 2001 and his M.D. from the University of Washington in 2007. He was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute-National Institutes of Health Research Scholar under Stephen I. Katz, and completed his residency in dermatology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.[5][6] He completed a postdoctoral fellowship under David Artis,[7] leading to a Master of Translational Research.

Kim’s laboratory[8] focuses on the regulatory mechanisms that underlie skin inflammation and the sensation of itch as a model paradigm of neuroimmunology. Key discoveries include the first identification of group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s)[9] in the skin of both mice and humans, novel contributions of basophils,[10] ILC2s,[11] and natural killer (NK) cells to skin inflammation,[12] and unveiling how different innate immune cells and type 2 cytokines/JAK signaling directly influence sensory neuronal responses.[13]

He was the first to identify IL-4 receptor signaling on sensory neurons,[14] which critically informed new therapies like dupilumab.[15] Kim's group also was the first lab to identify JAK1 signaling in sensory neurons,[16] building on previous research which showed a significant reduction of itch symptoms in response to treatment with JAK inhibitors.[17][18] While these previous works investigated JAK inhibition as an anti-inflammatory treatment, Kim and colleagues found that disruption of neuronal JAK1 signaling limits both inflammatory and non-inflammatory itch, suggesting that JAK inhibitors may represent a novel neuromodulatory approach to target itch in atopic dermatitis[19] Kim also designed the pivotal phase 2 clinical trial that ultimately led to the approval of topical ruxolitinib for atopic dermatitis.[20]

His research in neuroimmune regulation of itch and atopic dermatitis has led to awards and funding from the NIH, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation,[21] American Skin Association,[22] American Academy of Dermatology (2014 Young Investigator Award[23]), American Society for Clinical Investigation,[24] American Dermatological Association, and International League of Dermatological Societies. He holds a patent for the use of JAK inhibitors for chronic itch.US patent WO2017143014A1 He is on the scientific advisory board for Abrax Japan,[25] Granular Therapeutics,[26] Recens Medical, National Eczema Association,[27] and Cell Reports Medicine.[28] He is section editor for Journal of Immunology[29] and on the board of reviewing editors for eLife[30] and Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

 This article incorporates text by Brian S. Kim available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license. The text and its release have been received by the Wikimedia Volunteer Response Team.