Brian S. Kim, MD

Brian S. Kim, MD, MTR, FAAD is Vice Chair of Research and Site Chair of Morningside and Mount Sinai West, in the Kimberly and Eric J. Waldman Department of Dermatology. He is also Director of the Mark Lebwohl Center for Neuroinflammation and Sensation and Lead of the Allen Discovery Center for Neuroimmune Interactions at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr. Kim holds joint appointments in Dermatology, the Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, and the Friedman Brain Institute.

Dr. Kim is one of the top researchers worldwide in the study of patients with itch and other skin conditions. The overall goal of his research program is to understand the regulatory mechanisms that control neuroimmune interactions at the skin and other organs. His research examines how immune responses interface with the sensory nervous system to regulate inflammation, sensation, and immunity. Visit the Kim Lab homepage at: https://briankimlab.org/.

In addition to >180 peer-reviewed publications in top journals such as Cell, Nature, Science, New England Journal of Medicine, and Journal of the American Medical Association, Dr. Kim has multiple grants from National Institutes of Health (NIH) including the first T32 grant in the history of Mount Sinai Dermatology. He is also supported by the Allen Discovery Center program, a Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group advised program of the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. He is the recipient of numerous honors and awards including the American Dermatological Association Young Leadership Award in 2019, American Skin Association Research Achievement Award in Discovery in 2020, Stephen I Katz, MD, PhD International Lectureship Award in 2022, Donald Y. M. Leung, MD, PhD-JACI Editors Lectureship and Faculty Development Award in 2024, Marion B. Sulzberger, MD Research Award and Lectureship in 2024, and Otto Braun-Falco Memorial Lecture Award in 2024. He was inducted into the American Society for Clinical Investigation in 2022 and the American Dermatological Association in 2023.

Dr. Kim has an issued patent for the use of JAK inhibitors for chronic pruritus and has co-founded two biotech companies including Alys Pharmaceuticals with the venture capital firm Medicxi. He designed a pivotal clinical trials that led to FDA approval of topical ruxolitinib for atopic dermatitis and dupilumab for prurigo nodularis.

Dr. Kim was previously Co-Director, Center for the Study of Itch and Sensory Disorders at Washington University School of Medicine. He earned his B.S. in Chemistry at Haverford College, his M.D. at University of Washington School of Medicine (AOA), his M.T.R. at Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He received training as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)-National Institutes of Health (NIH) research scholar under the direction of Dr. Stephen I. Katz (former Director of the National Institute of Arthritis Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases) from 2004-2006 at the National Cancer Institute and a postdoctoral fellow in the Laboratory of Dr. David Artis at Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.