Natalie Kim, PhD
Senior Scientist at University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany
2010 NYSCF – Druckenmiller Fellow Alumna
PhD, New York University School of Medicine
Postdoctoral Training, Harvard University
Bio
Dr. Kim’s research focused on creating stem cell-derived brain cells from patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative disease that targets brain cells responsible for motion. Using these ALS – brain cells and the corresponding brain cells derived from the stem cells of healthy patients, she was able to search for potential drugs to treat ALS by screening approximately 5,000 compounds for ones which would promote brain cell survival. Her work contributed to the identification of at least five families of molecules that protect mouse brain cells against ALS-induced death, and these molecules may eventually be used to treat patients with ALS. She completed her postdoctoral studies at Harvard in Dr. Lee Rubin’s lab.