Jee Hyun Kim

Jee Hyun Kim
Dr Jee Hyun Kim, Head of Developmental Psychobiology Lab at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience & Mental Health
Nationality	Australian
Alma mater	University of New South Wales
Scientific career
Fields	neuroscience
Institutions	Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health

Jee Hyun Kim, is an Australian behavioral neuroscientist whose work focuses on emotional learning and memory during childhood and adolescence. She is a Senior Research Fellow and head of the Developmental Psychobiology Laboratory at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health in Melbourne, Australia.

Kim is an active science communicator, and has given public lectures at TEDx Melbourne, Australian Museum, National Portrait Gallery, Victorian Science Week, and City of Melbourne (Melbourne Conversations). She has also interviewed for ABC Radio, Radio New Zealand, SBS TV, and Channel 10 (The Project).

Research

Jee Hyun Kim's research has demonstrated that the acquisition and retrieval of fear memories is different across childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, and that fear memories are able to be erased early in life. Kim’s research uses rodent models that closely resemble human behaviors to understand the neurobiological basis of those behaviors. Specifically, her work investigates the role of memory and forgetting in the development and treatment of two major mental disorders across childhood and adolescence: anxiety disorder and substance abuse disorder. Kim has 40 original publications to date, and her work has been cited in other publications over 800 times.

To study anxiety, the Kim laboratory employs a classical conditioning paradigm based on the work of Ivan Pavlov known as fear conditioning. Despite originating 100 years ago, this model is widely used by modern scientists to uncover the neural mechanisms of fear and anxiety. To investigate substance abuse the Kim laboratory uses a operant conditioning paradigm based on the work of B. F. Skinner known as intravenous self-administration (IVSA). Kim's research especially focuses on extinction, a form of inhibitory learning that forms the basis of exposure-based therapies for both anxiety and addiction disorders.

Career

Kim completed her undergraduate degree at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in 2004, graduating with the prestigious University Medal in Psychology. She completed her PhD in Psychology in 2008 at UNSW, during which time she published six original scientific articles. After graduating, Kim worked as a postdoctoral research fellow at UNSW, and then the University of Michigan. Kim then gained a position as a Senior Research Officer at the Florey Institute, before becoming head of the Developmental Psychobiology Laboratory at the institute. Kim is the youngest laboratory head at the Florey.

Editor

• Behavioural Brain Research, Invited Guest Editor for 2016 special issue “Developmental Regulation of Memory in Anxiety and Addiction”
• Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, Review Editor
• Neurotransmitter, Associate Editor
• Pharmacology Research & Perspectives, Associate Editor

Leadership and Committees

Kim is a member of the Florey Graduate Research Committee, which provides leadership to over 200 graduate research students at the institute. Kim has served as a mentor for the Florey student association, Students of Florey Institutes (SoFI), and has been an invited speaker for Florey Mentor/Mentee Workshops.

Kim is also a vocal advocate for Women in Science, and has served on the committee for the Florey Committee for Equality is Science (EqIS). Kim was acknowledged for her role as a proponent for women in science in the manuscript of Kate White’s book, 'Building effective career paths for women in science research: a case study of an Australian science research institute'. Kim has completed the National Australian Bank “Realise” female leadership program, and attended “The X-factor: Putting Sex and Gender Under the Microscope in Medical Research” meeting hosted by Perpetual & Women Donors.

Kim is a member of the Florey Animal Ethics Committee, which is committed to maintaining ethical standards in the use of animals in neuroscientific research at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience & Mental Health. Kim is also a board member for the International Society for Developmental Psychobiology, and has been a Symposium Organiser and Chair at several international scientific conferences. Kim is a grant reviewer for both the NHMRC and the ARC, and a member of the NHMRC Research Translation Faculty.

Awards

• Australian Institute of Policy and Science, Victorian Tall Poppy Award 2014
• International Society for Developmental Psychobiology, Kucharski Young Investigator Award 2013
• Australian Psychological Society, Early Career Research Award 2012
• American Psychological Association, D.G. Marquis Award for Best paper published in Behavioral Neuroscience 2012
• University of New South Wales, U-Committee Award for Research Excellence in Science 2010
• International Society for Developmental Psychobiology, Dissertation Award 2009
• Australian Psychological Society, Prize for Excellence in PhD thesis in Psychology 2008
• International Society for Developmental Psychobiology, Sandra G. Wiener Student Investigator Award 2007
• Australian Psychological Society, Prize for the best performance in Psychology Honours 2004
• University of New South Wales, University Medal in Psychology 2004

Publications

Highlights

• "Role of Dopamine 2 Receptor in Impaired Drug-Cue Extinction in Adolescent Rats". Cerebral Cortex. 2015. doi:10.1093/cercor/bhw051.
• "Extinction of a cocaine-taking context that protects against drug-primed reinstatement is dependent on the metabotropic glutamate 5 receptor". Addiction Biology. 2015. doi:10.1111/adb.12142.
• "Early life stress alters pituitary growth during adolescence – a longitudinal study". Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2015. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2015.01.005.
• "Developmental rodent models of fear and anxiety: From neurobiology to pharmacology". British Journal of Pharmacology. 2014. doi:10.1111/bph.12643.
• "The effects of mGlu5 negative allosteric modulator MTEP and NMDA receptor partial agonist D-cycloserine on Pavlovian conditioned fear". International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology. 2015. doi:10.1017/S1461145714000303.
• "Knockdown of CRF1 receptors in the ventral tegmental area attenuates cue- and acute food deprivation stress-induced cocaine-seeking in mice". Journal of Neuroscience. 2014. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4763-12.2014.
• "Immunohistochemical analyses of extinction of conditioned fear in adolescent rats". Cerebral Cortex. 2011. doi:10.1093/cercor/bhq116.
• "Hippocampal and prefrontal projections to the basal amygdala mediate contextual regulation of fear after extinction". Journal of Neuroscience. 2011. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4095-11.2011.
• "New Findings on Extinction of Conditioned Fear Early in Development: Theoretical and Clinical Implications". Biological Psychiatry. 2010. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2009.09.003.
• "Fear extinction across development: The involvement of the medial prefrontal cortex as assessed by temporary inactivation and immunohistochemistry". Journal of Neuroscience. 2009. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0596-09.2009.
• "The effect of temporary amygdala inactivation on extinction and reextinction of fear in the developing rat: Unlearning as a potential mechanism for extinction early in development". Journal of Neuroscience. 2008. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4736-07.2008.

Other journal articles

• "The metabotropic glutamate 5 receptor is necessary for extinction of cocaine associated cues". British Journal of Pharmacology. 2016. doi:10.1111/bph.13437.
• "The effects of 4-methylethcathinone on CPP, locmotor sensitization, and anxiety-like behaviour: a comparison with methamphetamine". International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology. 2016. doi:10.1093/ijnp/pyv120.
• "Youth is not wasted on the young: Commentary on a BBR themed issue on developmental regulation of memory in anxiety and addiction". Behavioural Brain Research. 2016. doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2015.10.043.
• "Fear extinction in 17 day old rats is dependent on metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 signaling". Behavioural Brain Research. 2016. doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2014.12.010.
• "Ontogeny of memory: An update on 40 years of work on infantile amnesia". Behavioural Brain Research. 2016. doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2015.07.030.
• "Orexin-1 receptor signalling in the prelimbic cortex and ventral tegmental area regulates cue-induced reinstatement of ethanol-seeking in iP rats". Addiction Biology. 2015. doi:10.1111/adb.12251.
• "Adenosine 2A receptors modulate reward behaviours for methamphetamine". Addiction Biology. 2015. doi:10.1111/adb.12225.
• "Preclinical analysis of developmental transitions in the extinction of learned fear: From infancy through adolescence to adulthood". Changing Emotions. 2013. doi:10.4324/9780203075630.
• "Spatial Learning Requires mGlu5 Signalling in the Dorsal Hippocampus". Neurochemical Research. 2015. doi:10.1007/s11064-015-1595-0.
• "Drugs currently in Phase II clinical trials for cocaine addiction". Expert Opinion on Investigational Drugs. 2014. doi:10.1517/13543784.2014.915312.
• "Role of cues and contexts on drug-seeking behaviour". British Journal of Pharmacology. 2014. doi:10.1111/bph.12735.
• "Netrin-1 receptor-deficient mice show age-specific impairment in drug-induced locomotor hyperactivity but still self-administer methamphetamine". Psychopharmacology. 2013. doi:10.1007/s00213-013-3187-5.
• "The metabotropic glutamate 5 receptor modulates extinction and reinstatement of methamphetamine-seeking in mice". PLoS ONE. 2013. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0068371.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
• "Phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinase in the medial prefrontal cortex and the amygdala following memory retrieval or forgetting in developing rats". Neurobiology of Learning and Memory. 2012. doi:10.1016/j.nlm.2011.09.005.
• "Updating memories: Changing the involvement of the prelimbic cortex in the expression of an infant fear memory". Neuroscience. 2012. doi:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2012.06.038.
• "Differential involvement of the medial prefrontal cortex in the expression of learned fear across development". Behavioral Neuroscience. 2012. doi:10.1037/a0027151.
• "Impaired extinction retention in adolescent rats: Effects of d-cycloserine". Impaired extinction retention in adolescent rats: Effects of d-cycloserine. 2010. doi:10.1038/npp.2010.92.
• "Extinction in preweanling rats does not involve NMDA receptors". Neurobiology of Learning and Memory. 2010. doi:10.1016/j.nlm.2010.05.004.
• "Expression of renewal is dependent on the extinction-test interval rather than the acquisition-extinction interval". Behavioral Neuroscience. 2009. doi:10.1037/a0015237.
• "The effect of the μ-opioid receptor antagonist naloxone on extinction of conditioned fear in the developing rat". Learning and Memory. 2009. doi:10.1101/lm.1282309.
• "The effect of the NMDA receptor antagonist MK-801 on the acquisition and extinction of learned fear in the developing rat". Learning and Memory. 2007. doi:10.1101/lm.692407.
• "Immediate Post-Reminder Injection of Gamma-Amino Butyric Acid (GABA) Agonist Midazolam Attenuates Reactivation of Forgotten Fear in the Infant Rat". Behavioral Neuroscience. 2007. doi:10.1037/0735-7044.121.6.1328.
• "A developmental dissociation in reinstatement of an extinguished fear response in rats". Neurobiology of Learning and Memory. 2007. doi:10.1016/j.nlm.2007.03.004.
• "A developmental dissociation of context and GABA effects on extinguished fear in rats". Behavioral Neuroscience. 2007. doi:10.1037/0735-7044.121.1.131.
• "Recovery of fear memories in rats: Role of gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA) in infantile amnesia". Behavioral Neuroscience. 2006. doi:10.1037/0735-7044.120.1.40.

Book chapters

• "Preclinical analysis of developmental transitions in the extinction of learned fear: from infancy through adolescence to adulthood". Changing Emotions. 2013. doi:10.4324/9780203075630.
• "The role of metabotropic glutamate 5 receptor in addiction". Emerging Targets for Drug Addiction Treatment. 2012.
• "The role of mitogen-activated protein kinase in treatment strategies for fear and drug addiction". Advances in Protein Kinases. 2012. doi:10.5772/36756.

Articles

"The Conversation". Explainer: what is forgetting?. 2013.

External links

• Developmental Psychobiology Laboratory, The Florey Institute of Neuroscience & Mental Health
• Dr Jee Hyun Kim at TEDxMelbourne, "Living Without Fear"
• Panel: Dr Jee Hyun Kim at City of Melbourne, "Science City - Has Melbourne got what it takes?"