RFU Researcher Awarded $1.9M NIH Grant for Neurological Disease Research

Hongkyun Kim, PhD, professor of cell biology and anatomy in Rosalind Franklin University’s Center for Cancer Cell Biology, Immunology and Infection, was awarded a 5-year NIH grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for a total of $1,911,417. The grant will fund Dr. Kim’s research on “molecular and cellular regulation of CaV2 voltage-gated calcium channels.”

Dr. Kim’s research addresses the dysregulation of human proteins linked to a wide range of diseases. He is looking at a key protein in synaptic transmission: the voltage-gated calcium channel. These channels at the synapse determine how strongly nerve cells communicate with each other. This research is vital because abnormalities in channel function or abundance are often the underlying cause of neurological disorders, such as epilepsies, migraines and pain.

Dr. Kim joined RFU in 2008 from UCSF’s Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center, where he completed his post-doctoral training and afterward became an associate researcher. His research focus has been the genetic and genomic approaches to understand the pathogenesis mechanisms of neurological and neuromuscular diseases.

“Our favorite protein among proteins involved in synaptic transmission is the CaV2 voltage-gated calcium channel,” Dr. Kim said. “The voltage-gated calcium channel is critical for neurotransmitter release at the synapse of neurons. Using C. elegans as a model organism, we intend to identify and determine molecular components responsible for the abundance of these calcium channels.”

“Dr. Kim has amassed an impressive body of work in this field of neurological disorders,” said Joseph DiMario, PhD, RFU’s executive vice president for research. “This new NIH award is a recognition of his expertise in this domain and will further expand the understanding of this critical channel in these disease pathologies.”