Dr. Richard B. Kim, associate professor of Medicine and Pharmacology, received a 2002 New Investigator Award from the International Society for the Study of Xenobiotics (ISSX). ISSX, with more than 2,500 members, is the major international scientific society for investigators of drug metabolism. The New Investigator Award, presented to Kim last month at the society’s North American Meeting, honors investigators who have made significant contributions to the field during their early career years, typically within 15 years of earning an advanced degree.
Kim’s research focuses on the factors that contribute to differences in how individuals metabolize and respond to drugs. He studies drug transporters — proteins that move drugs and other chemicals across cell membranes — and drug-metabolizing cytochrome 450 enzymes both at the molecular level and in human beings. His laboratory has identified a number of genetic changes (SNPs) in the genes for transporters that move drugs like fexofenadine (Allegra) and HIV-1 protease inhibitors.