Kiwook Kim, PhD

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF PHARMACOLOGY

B.S., Handong Global University, S. Korea; Biomedical Science (2004).

M.S., Handong Global University, S. Korea; Cell biology (2007).

PhD, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel; Immunology (2011).

Postdoc, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven; Microbial Pathogenesis (2014).

Postdoc, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis; Pathogenesis & Immunology (2019).

Research Interests

Mononuclear phagocytes consist of monocytes, dendritic cells and macrophages. They contribute to tissue homeostasis in steady state and orchestrate immune response in a pathological condition. In the past decade, there has been a dramatic progress in our understanding of development and function of mononuclear phagocytes. By generating constitutive- and tamoxifen inducible- Cre mice driven by CX3​​​​​​​CR1 promoter, we previously revealed most tissue resident macrophages are derived from embryonic precursors (Immunity, 38: 79-91, 2013). Also, we demonstrated a minor population of tissue-resident macrophages can be replenished by circulating blood monocytes after birth (JEM, 213: 1951-1959, 2016).

Our lab investigates development and physiological roles of mononuclear phagocytes in steady state as well as pathological conditions (both inflammatory phase and resolving-phase) taking advantage of cutting-edge lineage-tracing approaches, cell ablation strategy and in-vivo imaging techniques combined with high throughput transcriptomic analysis.

Specifically, we focus on (1) roles of two monocyte populations (Ly6Chi CX3CR1int  and Ly6Clo CX3CR1hi subsets) in either promoting or resolving the inflammation, (2) transition of monocytes to macrophage/dendritic cells and their impact on  inflammation/ tissue repair, and (3) distinct roles of embryonic-derived macrophages and monocyte-derived macrophages in a variety of physiological or pathological conditions.  

Selected Publications

Tabatabaei N, Hou S, Kim KW*, Tahmasebi S*. Signaling pathways that control mRNA translation initiation in macrophages. Cell Signal. 73:109700, 2020.  *Co-corresponding authors

Williams JW, Zaitsev K, Kim KW, Ivanov S, Saunders BT, Schrank P, Kim K, Elvington A, Kim SH, Tucker CG, Wohltmann M, Fife B, Epelman S, Artyomov M, Lavine KJ, Zinselmeyer BH, Choi JH, Randolph GJ. Limited proliferation capacity of aorta intima resident macrophages requires monocyte recruitment for atherosclerotic plaque progression. Accepted in Nature Immunology. 10:1194-1204, 2020.

Buechler MB, Kim KW, Onufer EJ, Williams JW, Little CC, Dominguez CX, Li Q, Sandoval W, Cooper JE, Harris CA, Junttila MR, Randolph GJ, Turley SJ. A Stromal Niche Defined by Expression of the Transcription Factor WT1 Mediates Programming and Homeostasis of Cavity-Resident Macrophages. Immunity. 51:119-130.e5, 2019.

Kim KW, Williams JW, Wang YT, Ivanov S, Gilfillan S, Colonna M, Virgin HW, Gautier EL, Randolph GJ. MHCII+ Resident Peritoneal and Pleural Macrophages Rely on IRF4 for Development from Circulating Monocytes. J Exp Med. 213: 1951-1959, 2016.

Yona S*, Kim KW*, Wolf Y*, Mildner A, Varol D, Breker M, Strauss-Ayali D, Viukov S, Guilliams M, Misharin A, Hume DA, Perlman H, Malissen B, Zelzer E, Jung S. Fate Mapping Reveals Origins and Dynamics of Monocytes and Tissue Macrophages under Homeostasis. Immunity. 38: 79- 91, 2013.  *Co-first author

Complete List of Publications