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Summary
Hanna Kim, M.S., M.D., is a board-certified pediatric rheumatologist who is focused on exploring pathogenesis and novel treatments in juvenile dermatomyositis. During her rheumatology fellowship, Dr. Kim developed a passion for clinical and translational research while studying interferon-mediated autoinflammatory diseases, novel biomarkers, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics, and safety and efficacy in a compassionate use study with an investigational drug. She went on to become a Lawrence Shulman Scholar and studied the role of interferon and activity-related biomarkers in myositis, particularly juvenile dermatomyositis. She has also been evaluating Janus kinase inhibition in a compassionate use program for refractory juvenile dermatomyositis.
Dr. Kim was appointed as an Assistant Clinical Investigator in 2020 and is also an attending physician on the NIH Pediatric Rheumatology Consultation Service. She is actively involved in a range of organizations including the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), the Childhood Arthritis Rheumatology Research Alliance, and the International Myositis Assessment and Clinical Studies Group.
She has received numerous local, national, and international awards and honors, including NIAMS Group Merit Award, ACR Distinguished Fellow Award, Rheumatology Research Foundation Pediatric Research Award, Pediatric Rheumatology European Society Young Investigator Travel Award, selection for the ACR-European League Against Rheumatism Early Investigator Exchange Program, and best abstract at the Global Conference on Myositis. Dr. Kim has also given national and international presentations.
Research Statement
The Juvenile Myositis Therapeutic and Translational Studies Unit is a research group focused on better understanding the pathogenesis of juvenile myositis, particularly inflammatory and immune mechanisms, and improved therapy. This is approached by discovery biomarker analysis utilizing broad expression such as transcriptomic and proteomic analysis in juvenile dermatomyositis, a rare autoimmune system vasculopathy with notable involvement of skin with characteristic rashes and muscle inflammation. Another approach is looking at how biomarkers in juvenile myositis compare to Mendelian autoinflammatory disease and further analysis of juvenile myositis separated by myositis autoantibody subgroups which have some distinct patterns of features.
Regarding treatment, we investigate novel treatments in small clinical trials in juvenile myositis with the goal of establishing more targeted therapy ideally with fewer side-effects and greater efficacy. We hope that through better understanding pathogenesis can be paired with the investigation of novel therapies that can lead to better management and improved quality of life for people with juvenile myositis.
Scientific Publications
Education
University of California at Irvine (UCI)
M.D.
Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU)
M.S.
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
B.S.
Experience
Lawrence Shulman Scholar in Translational Research
NIAMS, NIH, Bethesda, MD
Residency in Pediatrics
George Washington University / Children’s National Medical Center
Pediatric Rheumatology Fellowship
Nemours/Alfred I. DuPont Hospital for Children (Wilmington, DE), Children’s National Health System (DC), and NIAMS, NIH.