Joel Kim

M.D / PhD student

Joel was born in South Korea and immigrated with his family to the United States at the age of 8. Having spent his childhood in several states and countries, he gained a deeper appreciation of diverse cultures and perspectives. His captivation for human health and how things work motivated him to join the MSTP program at Mount Sinai in 2016. His research interests lie primarily in understanding the mechanism of tumorigenesis in the context of immunity, as well as developing and implementing novel computational methods that integrate several layers of data (ie: protein, transcriptional, epigenetics, spatial, clinical) that facilitate discovery of therapeutic targets. Currently in the Merad lab, he is working to enhance our knowledge of myeloid subsets implicated in response to immune checkpoint blockade in hepatocellular carcinoma patients.

Fun facts about myself:

1. I lived in Russia prior to immigrating to the USA

2. I love to walk around/hike in nature (ie: Grand Canyon) 

3. I open water diver certified!