Minhee Kim

Current position

· 2025.10–Present, Postdoctoral researcher, Department of Neurobiology at Karolinska Institutet

· Research topic:

 1. In vivo novel PET tracer study specific for alpha 7 nicotinic receptors in neurons and astrocytes

2. Multimodal biomarkers integration of autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease

· Supervisor: Prof. Agneta Nordberg

Education

· 2015.03–2025.02, Direct Ph.D., Department of Biomedical Science and Engineering at Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Republic of Korea 

· Thesis: Early screening of Alzheimer’s disease through the measurement of the hemodynamic responses in the prefrontal lobe by using functional near-infrared spectroscopy

- Defended in 2024.11.18

· Advisor: Prof. Jae Gwan Kim

· 2011.03–2015.02, B.S., Department of Physics at Chungnam National University, Republic of Korea 

· Thesis: Fabrication of pulsed laser using ytterbium-doped fiber

· Advisor: Prof. Min Yong Jeon

· Graduated with honor of award by Dean in Natural Science Colleges

I am interested in exploring neurodegenerative disease study using a multimodal approach. During my Ph.D., I investigated how blood oxygenation in the brain changes during cognitive stimulation in Alzheimer's disease (AD), depending on disease severity. My main finding highlights hyperactivated prefrontal functional connectivity in asymptomatic individuals at risk of AD compared to healthy control when cognitive load is given. My primary interest based on: Can we identify a novel biomarker indicating the early state of AD before symptom onset? 

At Karolinska Institutet, I am going to expand my expertise by combining PET and MRI imaging to explore how neurodegeneration affects neurons and glial cells differently inside the AD brain and how that neurodegenerations can be interpreted. I plan to integrate multimodal PET and plasma biomarkers to achieve a comprehensive understanding of neurodegenerative diseases.