Jee Hyun Kim is an Australian behavioral neuroscientist whose work focuses on emotional learning and memory during childhood and adolescence. She is a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

, ARC future fellow, and head of the Molecular Psychiatry Laboratory at the Deakin University School of Medicine, Australia Kim is an active

science communicator Science communication encompasses a wide range of activities that connect science and society. Common goals of science communication include informing non-experts about scientific findings, raising the public awareness of and interest in sci ...

, and has given public lectures at TEDx Melbourne,

Australian Museum The Australian Museum, originally known as the Colonial Museum or Sydney Museum. is a heritage-listed museum at 1 William Street, Sydney, William Street, Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, New South Wales. It is the oldest natural ...

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

, Victorian Science Week,

City of Melbourne The City of Melbourne is a Local government in Australia, local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the Melbourne central business district, central city area of Melbourne. In 2021, the city has an area of and had a populati ...

(Melbourne Conversations), and the Wheeler Centre. She has also interviewed for ABC Radio, Radio New Zealand, SBS TV, Channel 10 (The Project), and was featured on ABC Catalyst.

Research

Kim's research has demonstrated that the acquisition and retrieval of fear memories is different across childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, and that fear memories are able to be erased early in life. Kim's research uses rodent models that closely resemble human behaviors to understand the neurobiological basis of those behaviors. Specifically, her work investigates the role of memory and forgetting in the development and treatment of two major mental disorders across childhood and adolescence:

anxiety disorder Anxiety disorders are a group of mental disorders characterized by significant and uncontrollable feelings of anxiety and fear such that a person's social, occupational, and personal functions are significantly impaired. Anxiety may cause phys ...

and

substance use disorder Substance use disorder (SUD) is the persistent use of drugs despite substantial harm and adverse consequences to self and others. Related terms include ''substance use problems'' and ''problematic drug or alcohol use''. Along with substance-ind ...

. To study

anxiety Anxiety is an emotion characterised by an unpleasant state of inner wikt:turmoil, turmoil and includes feelings of dread over Anticipation, anticipated events. Anxiety is different from fear in that fear is defined as the emotional response ...

, the Kim laboratory employs a

classical conditioning Classical conditioning (also respondent conditioning and Pavlovian conditioning) is a behavioral procedure in which a biologically potent Stimulus (physiology), stimulus (e.g. food, a puff of air on the eye, a potential rival) is paired with a n ...

paradigm based on the work of

Ivan Pavlov Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (, ; 27 February 1936) was a Russian and Soviet experimental neurologist and physiologist known for his discovery of classical conditioning through his experiments with dogs. Pavlov also conducted significant research on ...

known as

fear conditioning Pavlovian fear conditioning is a behavioral paradigm in which organisms learn to predict aversive events. It is a form of learning in which an aversive stimulus (e.g. an electrical shock) is associated with a particular neutral context (e.g., a r ...

. Despite originating 100 years ago, this model is widely used by modern scientists to uncover the neural mechanisms of fear and anxiety. To investigate substance abuse the Kim laboratory uses an

operant conditioning Operant conditioning, also called instrumental conditioning, is a learning process in which voluntary behaviors are modified by association with the addition (or removal) of reward or aversive stimuli. The frequency or duration of the behavior ma ...

paradigm based on the work of

B. F. Skinner Burrhus Frederic Skinner (March 20, 1904 – August 18, 1990) was an American psychologist, behaviorist, inventor, and social philosopher. He was the Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology at Harvard University from 1948 until his retirement in ...

known as intravenous self-administration. Kim's research especially focuses on

extinction Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

, a form of inhibitory learning that forms the basis of exposure-based therapies for both anxiety and addiction disorders. Kim has over 70 original publications to date, and her work has been cited in other publications over 2700 times.

Career

Kim completed her undergraduate degree at the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

(UNSW) in 2004, graduating with the

University Medal A University Medal is one of several types of award conferred by university, universities upon outstanding students or members of staff. The usage and status of university medals differ between countries and between universities. As award on grad ...

in Psychology. She completed her

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

in 2008 at UNSW, during which time she published six original scientific articles. After graduating, Kim worked as a

postdoctoral research fellow A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a Doctor of Philosophy, PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, h ...

at UNSW, and then the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. Kim then gained a position as a Senior Research Officer at the Florey Institute, before becoming head of the Developmental Psychobiology Laboratory at the institute.

Editorial activity

*''

Behavioural Brain Research ''Behavioural Brain Research'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Elsevier. The journal publishes articles in the field of behavioural neuroscience. Volume 1 appeared in 1980 and issues appeared 6 times per year; as submissions in ...

'', Invited Guest Editor for 2016 special issue ''Developmental Regulation of Memory in Anxiety and Addiction'' *'' Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience'', Review editor *'' Frontiers in Pharmacology: Translational Pharmacology'', Review editor *''

Pharmacology Research & Perspectives ''Pharmacology Research & Perspectives'' is a bi-monthly peer-reviewed open access medical journal which publishes research over all aspects of drug action. The editor-in-chief is Jennifer H. Martin. The journal was established in 2013 as a jo ...

'', member of the

editorial board The editorial board is a group of editors, writers, and other people who are charged with implementing a publication's approach to editorials and other opinion pieces. The editorials published normally represent the views or goals of the publicat ...

Community service

Kim is a vocal advocate for Women in Science, and has served on the committee for the Florey Committee for Equality is Science (EqIS). Kim was acknowledged for her role as a proponent for women in science in Kate White's book, ''Building effective career paths for women in science research: a case study of an Australian science research institute''. Kim is also a board member for the International Society for Developmental Psychobiology and has been a symposium organiser and chair at several international scientific conferences. Kim is the treasurer of Biological Psychiatry Australia.

Awards

* International Society for Neurochemistry (ISN) Young Scientist Lectureship Award *

American College of Neuropsychopharmacology Founded in 1961, the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) is a professional organization of leading brain and behavior scientists. The principal functions of the College are research and education. Their goals in research are to offer ...

(ACNP) Travel Award, Senior Level *Biological Psychiatry Australia, Aubrey Lewis Award 2017 * The International College of Neuropsychopharmacology (CINP), Rafaelsen Young Investigator Award 2016 * Australian Institute of Policy and Science, Victorian Tall Poppy Award 2014 * International Society for Developmental Psychobiology, Kucharski Young Investigator Award 2013 *

Australian Psychological Society The Australian Psychological Society (APS) is Australia's leading association for psychologists in Australia, with more than 25,000 members. APS works to improve the lives of Australians through psychology, working in diverse settings and sect ...

, Early Career Research Award 2012 *

American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychologists in the United States, and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 170,000 members, including scientists, educators, clin ...

, D.G. Marquis Award for Best paper published in

Behavioral Neuroscience Behavioral neuroscience, also known as biological psychology, biopsychology, or psychobiology,Psychobi ...

2012 *

, U-Committee Award for Research Excellence in Science 2010 * International Society for Developmental Psychobiology, Dissertation Award 2009 *

, Prize for Excellence in PhD thesis in Psychology 2008 * International Society for Developmental Psychobiology, Sandra G. Wiener Student Investigator Award 2007 *

, Prize for the best performance in Psychology Honours 2004 *

, University Medal in Psychology 2004

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Jee Hyun Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Australian neuroscientists Australian women neuroscientists Australian people of Korean descent 21st-century Australian women scientists University of Michigan fellows University of New South Wales alumni