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Education

  • Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, 2011
  • M.S. Mechanical Engineering, Seoul National University, 2001
  • B.S. Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Seoul National University, 1999

Background

Dr. Kim joined the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering as an Assistant Professor in July 2013. Prior to his current appointment, he was a Postdoctoral Associate in the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT, where he developed biomimetic microsystems for probing nanoparticle behaviors in the inflamed endothelium and for synthesizing therapeutic and diagnostic nanomaterials. His doctorate research at CMU focused on closed-loop microfluidic control systems for lab-on-a-chip applications to biochemistry and developmental biology. Prior to his PhD, he was a researcher in areas of dynamics, controls, and robotics at R&D Divisions of Hyundai-Kia Motors and Samsung Electronics for 6 years.

Research

  • Biomimetic microsystems (Organ-on-a-Chip), Multifunctional nanomaterials, Synthetic biomaterials, Tissue engineering, Microfluidics, Dynamics and controls, Mechatronics, and Robotics.

Dr. Kim’s research focuses on developing biomimetic microsystems that reconstitute organ-level functions on chip and integrative control systems that allow large-scale production of therapeutic and diagnostic bio/nanomaterials. His lab develops experimental control systems and micro/millifluidic platforms, and employs computer-aided engineering to understand: (1) how cells coordinate responses to signaling cues in multicellular environments; (2) how bio/nanomaterials assemble and break in dynamically controlled fluid flows; and (3) how biological systems interact with nanomaterials with varied physicochemical properties.

Organs-on-chips that mimic the characteristics of human organs are enabling scientists to predict more accurately how effective therapeutic drug candidates would be in clinical studies without serious adverse effects and to address how multiple cells coordinate organizational decisions in response to complicated signaling cascades. Dr. Kim’s lab builds valid artificial organ-on-a-chip systems by manipulating 3D extracellular environments in time and space, utilizing the expertise in microfabrication, miniaturization, robotics, and control systems engineering, and understanding the human body’s fundamental physiological responses to mechanochemical cues. This research will help examine the behavior and interaction of multifunctional nanomaterials with biologically relevant microenvironments for rapid clinical translation of nanomedicine, thereby bringing drugs to market more quickly and perhaps even eliminate the need for animal testing.

Advanced treatment of diseases such as cancer and atherosclerosis needs controlled delivery of multifunctional nanocarriers that contain multiple drugs that can target tumors with anti-angiogenic and cytostatic agents and a diversity of imaging agents that monitor the transport in the body. Optimized integration of manufacturing nanomaterials will contribute to advanced health technology not only because of rapid clinical translation of drugs but also due to reduction of any release of harmful byproducts. Dr. Kim’s lab designs and fabricates diverse microfluidic modules for diverse syntheses of multifunctional nanomaterials and integrates the modules to establish large-scale implementation of manufacturing processes scaled to economically and industrially relevant production level. The integrative system will facilitate good manufacturing practice (GMP) production and clinical translation in pharmaceutical and biomedical industry and enable reproducible and controlled synthesis of nanoparticles at scales suitable for rapid clinical development and commercialization.

  • NIH Director's New Innovator Award, 2017
  • NSF Career Award, 2017
  • National Scientist Development Grant Award at American Heart Association, 2015
  • Coins for Alzheimer’s Research Trust Award at CART Fund, 2015
  • Investigator-Initiated Pilot Grant Award, Regenerative Engineering Medicine, 2014
  • Investigator-Initiated Pilot Grant Award, Center of Pediatric Nanomedicine, 2014
  • Distinguished Panel Speaker, Annual Beckman Scholars and Young Investigators Symposium, 2014
  • Best Presentation Award at American Control Conference, 2010
  • Dowd ICES Fellowship at Carnegie Mellon University, 2008                                   
  • Dean's Fellowship at Carnegie Mellon University, 2007                                                                    
  • BrainKorea21 Project Scholarship at Seoul National University, 1999

Representative Publications

  • Kim Y and Langer R, Microfluidics in nanomedicine (2015) Reviews in Cell Biology and Molecular Medicine 1:127–152.
  • Kim Y, Hazar M, Vijayraghavan D, Song J, Jackson TR, Joshi SD, Messner WC, Davidson LA, and LeDuc PR, Mechanochemical actuators of embryonic epithelial contractility (2014) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) 111 (40): 14366-14371.
  • Kim Y, Lobatto ME, Kawahara T, Lee Chung B, Mieszawska AJ, Sanchez-Gaytan BL, Fay F, Senders M, Calcagno C, Becraft J, Saung MT, Gordon RE, Ma M, Farokhzad OC, Fayad ZA, Mulder WJM, and Langer R, Probing nanoparticle translocation across the permeable endothelium in experimental atherosclerosis (2014) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 111 (3): 1078-1083.
  • Kim Y, Fay F, Cormode DP, Sanchez-Gaytan BL, Tang J, Hennessy E, Ma M, Moore KJ, Farokhzad OC, Fisher EA, Mulder WJM, Langer R, and Fayad ZA, Single step reconstitution of multifunctional high-density lipoprotein-derived nanomaterials using microfluidics (2013) ACS Nano 7 (11): 9975-9983.
  • Kim Y, LeDuc PR, and Messner WC, Modeling and control of a nonlinear mechanism for high performance microfluidic systems (2013) IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology 21 (1): 203-211.
  • Kim Y, Lee Chung B, Ma M, Mulder WJM, Fayad ZA, Farokhzad OC, and Langer R, Mass production and size control of lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles through controlled microvortices (2012) Nano Letters 12 (7): 3587–3591.
  • Kim Y, Joshi SD, Messner WC, LeDuc PR, and Davidson LA, Detection of dynamic spatiotemporal response to periodic chemical stimulation in a Xenopus embryonic tissue (2011) PLoS ONE 6(1): e14624.
  • Kim Y, Pekkan K, Messner WC, and LeDuc PR, Three-dimensional chemical profile manipulation using two-dimensional autonomous microfluidic control (2010) Journal of the American Chemical Society 132(4): 1339-1347.
  • Kim Y, Kuczenski B, LeDuc PR, and Messner WC, Modulation of fluidic resistance and capacitance for long-term high-speed feedback control of a microfluidic interface (2009) Lab on a Chip 9(17): 2603-2609.

Representative Patents

  • Kim Y, Messner WC, LeDuc PR, 3D Chemical Pattern Control in 2D Fluidics Devices, US 20130014828 A1, (Assignee: Carnegie Mellon University), Jan. 17, 2013.
  • Kim Y, Wee H, Kim D, Robot cleaner system having robot cleaner and docking station, US 7891045 B2, (Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.), Feb. 22, 2011.
  • Kim Y, Kuczenski B, LeDuc PR, Messner WC, Fluid-Pressure Regulator and Related Methods and Systems, US 20110017312 A1, (Assignee: Carnegie Mellon University), Jan. 27, 2011.
  • Kim Y, Apparatus of monitoring rear of vehicle, US 20030202096 A1, (Assignee: KIA Motors Corp.), Oct. 30, 2003.