Yeon Joo “Ashley” Kim, MD, PhD

Dermatology Resident
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

Biography

Dr. Kim is currently a third-year dermatology resident at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Her work bridges fundamental immunology with clinical translation in cutaneous oncology and inflammatory skin disease. Beginning in high school, she conducted research in supramolecular chemistry developing pH-dependent molecular switches. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology, where she was an HHMI Undergraduate Research Scholar studying novel markers and regulators of hematopoietic stem cells. She subsequently completed her MD-PhD training at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. Her doctoral research in tumor immunology elucidated mechanisms of immune resistance and tumor dedifferentiation in melanoma, for which she was awarded the NIH F30 Ruth L. Kirschstein Fellowship. Her work contributed to multiple high-impact publications in Cancer Discovery, Cancer Cell, and The Journal of Clinical Investigation, advancing understanding of interferon-γ–driven immune escape and response to immune checkpoint blockade. During dermatology residency, Dr. Kim served as a sub-investigator on multiple clinical trials in atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, hidradenitis suppurativa, and skin cancers. Following residency, Dr. Kim aims to bridge scientific discovery and clinical practice to drive meaningful, patient-centered innovation in dermatology.