Kim Working to 'Sneak Medicines Past the Immune System'

Arizona Public Media recently spoke with BME assistant professor Minkyu Kim about his work to more efficiently deliver medicine within the body. His plan is to combine materials science, synthetic biology and multiscale mechanics to develop a new form of drug delivery microparticle designed to bypass the body’s filtration systems.

“I studied some of the proteins in red blood cells and found out that some of the proteins have very special properties," Kim told AZPM. “We now know red blood cells contain a microparticle which is important to disguise the hemoglobin molecules inside, and they can hide from our defense system.”

AZPM notes that fooling the body by imitating red blood cells and similar structures can make it easier to deliver medicine to its intended target.

For this work, Kim has earned a $600,000 CAREER Award, the National Science Foundation’s most prestigious award in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education.