I started attending ICIS meetings in 2017 and learned a great deal about cytokines and made many friends. I have also served as a Council Member of ICIS since last year and am currently leading the local organizing committee for Cytokines 2024 & KAI 2024. What has struck me the most over the years of my engagement with ICIS is the great emphasis the ICIS leadership places on helping young scientists and the loyalty of ICIS members to the society. It is like once you are in, you belong to the family. I wish I had joined ICIS earlier in my career.
Please tell us your name, degree, where you currently work.
My name is You-Me Kim, PhD. I am an Associate Professor at Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in Daejeon, Korea,
Where did you do your training?
I received my BS and MS from Seoul National University and PhD from Thomas Jefferson University. I did my postdoctoral training with Hidde Ploegh in Harvard Medical School and Whitehead Institute.
Briefly, what is your research about?
Molecular mechanisms of immune regulation. I am particular interested in how signaling by various “non-immune” receptors regulate immune cell functions.
Tell us your thoughts about ICIS: how has being involved in the Cytokine Society help your career?
I started attending ICIS meetings in 2017 and learned a great deal about cytokines and made many friends. I have also served as a Council Member of ICIS since last year and am currently leading the local organizing committee for Cytokines 2024 & KAI 2024. What has struck me the most over the years of my engagement with ICIS is the great emphasis the ICIS leadership places on helping young scientists and the loyalty of ICIS members to the society. It is like once you are in, you belong to the family. I wish I had joined ICIS earlier in my career.
Are there any particular friendships or collaborations that came specifically out of Cytokines meetings?
Joan Oefner, ICIS’s Managing Director, has been very friendly from the first time I met her and has patiently been helping me prepare for Cytokines 2024, from the initial bid in 2019 to host Cytokines meeting in Seoul till now. I am very grateful to her and believe that she is a great asset to ICIS in so many aspects.
What Cytokines meeting(s) have been your favorites? Tell us about any special memories or anecdotes.
Every meeting that I attended was great, including the recent Athens meeting. In terms of the meeting venue, Vienna meeting was my favorite. Having conference in a famous imperial palace, I felt like a princess!
What do you like to do when not in the lab?
I love hiking! The most recent hiking was at Table Mountain in Cape Town which I visited to attend IUIS 2023.
What is the best life/career advice you’ve ever received?
“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and freedom.” by Viktor E. Frankl
What book or TV show are you reading/watching right now that you recommend?
“Breaking through: My life in Science” by Katalin Kariko. It shows how important perseverance is in science. It is a powerful and inspiring book and, at the same time, an easy read for non-native English speakers like me.
What is your favorite cytokine?
This is a tough question. Ummm……. I would answer IL-17, for now. Currently, we are studying a receptor that regulates the ability of intestinal dendritic cells to induce the differentiation of Th17 cells.