Research area

Eighty-five billion glial cells exist in the human brain and provide any imaginable supporting functions to the brain. Our brain must be carefully controlled to ensure good physical and mental health, but neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease or Parkinson’s disease, disrupt our fine-tuned brain and reduce our quality of life.

Thomas Kim's research focus is molecular mechanisms on cell state transitions. In his research Thomas Kim first focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms controlling microglial subtypes in neurodegenerative disorders and evaluating potential approaches to target these microglia as therapeutic interventions and as biomarkers. This research will improve our understanding of microglia in the context of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders, and evaluate potential approaches to target these microglia as therapeutic interventions and as biomarkers. 

Secondly, he will harness the findings from hypothalamic neurodevelopment to develop new astrocyte-based treatments for neurodegenerative disorders. Developing methods to convert native astrocytes into specific neuronal subtypes could lead to alternative and longer-lasting therapeutic approaches to neurodegenerative diseases.

Short Bio

Thomas Kim is an Associate Professor and group leader of the Kim Group at DANDRITE - Danish Research Institute of Translational Neuroscience. The Kim Group investigates molecular mechanisms that regulate cell states in neurodegeneration and neurodevelopment utilizing multi-Omics approaches, and focuses on molecular mechanisms on cell state transitions. Thomas Kim earned his ph.d. from the University of Otago, New Zealand. After his ph.d, he went to the US, where he undertook a postdoctoral position at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.