Our People
Minah Kim
Principal Investigator, PhD
Minah is an Assistant Professor of Pathology and Cell Biology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. She earned her PhD from KAIST under the mentorship of Dr. Gou Young Koh and completed her postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Dr. Donald McDonald at UCSF. Her lab focuses on vascular remodeling as a metastatic niche, vascular-immune crosstalk, and blood-brain barrier dysfunction in cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.
Email: mk4242@cumc.columbia.edu
Ha-Ram Park
Postdoctoral Fellow, PhD
Haram earned her PhD in Oncology from Seoul National University College of Medicine in Korea, where she studied cancer immunotherapy and investigated mechanisms of resistance to targeted therapies in non-small cell lung cancer under the mentorship of Dr. Dong-Wan Kim and Dr. Tae Min Kim. In the Kim Lab, she focuses on the vascular regulation of immunosuppression and the efficacy of immunotherapy in melanoma.
Email: hp2613@cumc.columbia.edu
Eunhyeong Lee
Postdoctoral Fellow, PhD
Eunhyeong earned her PhD in Vascular Biology from KAIST, where she studied the regulatory mechanisms driving vascular abnormalities in glioblastoma under the supervision of Dr. Injune Kim. She now continues her work in the Kim lab, investigating blood-brain barrier compromise in Alzheimer’s disease with a particular focus on the ANGPT2-TIE2 pathway.
Email: el3219@cumc.columbia.edu
An Lo
Technician (Postgraduate Researcher)
An earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia, where she double majored in Chemistry and Cognitive Science with a concentration in Neuroscience. In the lab of Dr. Heather Ferris, she previously conducted research on Alzheimer’s disease. She is now in the Kim lab, where her work focuses on VEGFR3 and ANGPT2-TIE2 signaling in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.
Email: al4792@cumc.columbia.edu
Yeonghwan Kim
Postdoctoral Fellow, PhD
Yeonghwan earned his PhD in Chemical Engineering from Sungkyunkwan University, where he investigated the molecular mechanisms underlying angiogenesis and stem cell therapy under the guidance of Dr. Sukho Bhang. In the Kim lab, his current research focuses on resistance mechanisms to antiangiogenic therapy in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.
Email: yk3095@cumc.columbia.edu
Claire Liu Zhu
Undergraduate Student
Claire is an undergraduate student at Columbia College, majoring in Neuroscience and Behavior. She is highly enthusiastic about scientific research and participates in a range of campus organizations. Since beginning her work in the Kim lab in late 2023, she has remained actively involved in the Alzheimer’s disease project.
Email: clz2117@cumc.columbia.edu
Nashat Zaman
Visiting Student Intern
Nashat is a visiting student intern and an undergraduate at the National University of Singapore, majoring in Biomedical Engineering. Her previous research at Kyoto University focused on how epigenetic switches restore mitochondrial function in asthmatic lung cells. In the Kim Lab, she is currently involved in the pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor research project.
Email: nashat.zaman@u.nus.edu
Olivia Pelcher
Technician (Postgraduate Researcher)
Olivia earned her Bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences with a minor in Chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh. As an undergraduate researcher, she investigated dysregulated PDGFR signaling pathways in supratentorial ependymoma under the mentorship of Dr. Antony MichealRaj. In the Kim Lab, she focuses on understanding how vascular regulation shapes immunity in melanoma.
Email: will be updated
Tressel James Holton
Undergraduate Researcher
Tressel is an undergraduate at Columbia College, studying Neuroscience & Behavior with a minor in Philosophy. His prior research at the University of Toledo focused on the neuropathology of cerebral malaria, sparking his interest in the intersection of biomedical research and healthcare. Since joining the Kim Lab in May 2026, he has contributed to the lab's Alzheimer's disease project.
Email: tjh2167@columbia.edu
Kristina Hwang
Researcher
Kristina earned her bachelor's degree in Chinese language and culture from Williams College and her master's degree in medical physiology from Case Western Reserve University. She previously worked in the gynecologic oncology department at NYU Langone, managing non-therapeutic clinical trials focused on ovarian and cervical cancer genetics and risk reduction. Kristina is currently pursuing a DDS at Columbia University College of Dental Medicine while contributing to the pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor research project in the Kim Lab.
Email: kjh2149@cumc.columbia.edu
Former Lab Members
Juliette Shang (2023-2026, Undergraduate Researcher, Columbia University)
Shawn Jaeha Kim (2024-2026, Undergraduate Researcher, Columbia University)
Nika Kozlov (2024–2025, Technician, Boston University)
Kieran Chiddix (2025, Summer GSAS Leadership participant, Sonoma State University)
Sangryeol Lee (2024–2025, Postdoctoral Fellow)
Current Position: Assistant Professor of Physiology, Dong-A University College of MedicineSophie O'Keefe (2022–2024, Postgraduate Researcher, University of Chicago)
Current Position: PhD candidate at the University of VirginiaMing Yu (2023–2024, Undergraduate Researcher, CUNY Hunter College)
Yena Jang (2023, Summer Research Student, University of Chicago)
Ellen Jones (2023, Summer Research Student, Georgia State University, GSAS program)
Portia Cummings (2021–2023, Undergraduate Researcher, Columbia University)
Current Position: Medical student at Johns Hopkins School of MedicineGauri Kasarla (2022, Summer Research Student, Columbia University)
Alessandra Leong (2019–2022, Technician, University of Chicago)
Current Position: Medical student at the University of PittsburghJanani Varadarajan (2020–2022, Undergraduate Researcher, Barnard College)
Current Position: Medical student at RutgersAnahita Shiva (2020–2022, Technician, Cornell University)
Current Position: Medical student at the University of MarylandCarol Dalgarno (2019, Summer Research Student, Wesleyan University, GSAS program)