Jason K Kim

Dr. Jason K Kim is a Professor at UMass Chan Medical School, holding multiple appointments across the T.H. Chan School of Medicine and Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. He serves in the Department of Medicine (Division of Endocrinology & Diabetes), Program in Molecular Medicine, and several graduate programs including Biophysical Chemical and Computational Biology, Interdisciplinary Graduate Program, Masters in Clinical Investigation, MD/PhD Program, Population Health Sciences, and Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program.

Dr. Kim earned his BS in Biological Sciences from University of California, Irvine, followed by a PhD in Physiology & Biophysics from University of Southern California. He completed postdoctoral training and served as Assistant Professor at Yale University School of Medicine in Endocrinology & Metabolism, then became Associate Professor at Penn State College of Medicine in Cellular & Molecular Physiology, before joining UMass Medical School as Professor of Molecular Medicine in 2008.

With nearly 30 years of research experience, Dr. Kim has made significant contributions to understanding obesity, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes, with 166 peer-reviewed publications in high-impact journals including Nature, Science, and Cell Metabolism. His work focuses on the molecular link between inflammation and insulin resistance using transgenic mouse models, investigating how ER stress, macrophage function, and gut microbiome alterations contribute to metabolic disease. Notably, he serves as Program Director of the NIH-funded National Mouse Metabolic Phenotyping Center.

Analysis of Dr. Kim's recent publications reveals a consistent focus on molecular mechanisms linking inflammation to metabolic dysfunction. His research spans multiple interconnected areas including macrophage polarization in obesity, cytokine signaling in insulin resistance, ER stress responses, gut microbiome interactions, and cardiac complications of diabetes. His work demonstrates strong translational potential with implications for therapeutic interventions targeting inflammatory pathways in metabolic disease.

As Program Director of the NIH-funded National Mouse Metabolic Phenotyping Center, Dr. Kim oversees a critical resource for diabetes research that has studied over 400 genetic mouse models. His laboratory provides extensive training opportunities for graduate students through multiple programs at UMass, with lab rotations currently available. His research program represents a significant NIH-funded effort to understand the etiology of type 2 diabetes and identify potential therapeutic targets.

Dr. Kim's research is conducted through multiple interconnected projects investigating GRP78 and unfolded protein response, IFNγ and IL-1α in inflammation, gut microbiome alterations, ER stress in diabetic heart disease, and IL-10's role in regulating glucose metabolism. His work leverages sophisticated mouse models and metabolic phenotyping approaches to bridge basic science discoveries with clinical applications in diabetes and obesity.