Project Title: Tspan14 Expression and Function in Cardiovascular Disease
Position: Postdoctoral Fellow
Institution: Brigham and Women's Hospital
Funding NIH Institute/Center: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Grant ID: K99HL163411
An Oklahoman by birth, Vivian S. Lee-Kim was raised in Oklahoma and Washington, where her passion for science and nature sprouted from her childhood summers spent collecting and observing insects. Dr. Lee-Kim’s first foray into biomedical research began through the undergraduate research program at the University of Washington, where she majored in biochemistry and performed independent research on nanoparticle toxicity in pulmonary cells. With the support of strong mentors and collaborative colleagues, her zeal for science continued to accelerate, inspiring her to pursue and obtain her PhD in developmental, regenerative, and stem cell biology at Washington University in St. Louis. Her thesis focused on identifying and validating novel mutations for familial thoracic aortic aneurysms. Currently, she is a postdoctoral fellow at Brigham and Women’s Hospital studying noncoding variants associated with coronary artery disease. Throughout her scientific career, Dr. Lee-Kim recognized the diversity challenges within the scientific community and dedicated herself to the recruitment and empowerment of young scientists from underrepresented groups through various outreach programs. As a MOSAIC scholar, she is committed to magnifying diversity and entrenching inclusion as a pillar of her future research program, institution, and wider scientific community.