Peter S. Kim (born April 27, 1958) is an American scientist. He was president of Merck Research Laboratories (MRL) 2003–2013 and is currently Virginia & D.K. Ludwig

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

Biochemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...

at Stanford University, Institute Scholar at Stanford ChEM-H, and Lead Investigator of the Infectious Disease Initiative at the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub. In 2016, Kim was elected a member of the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy ...

for leadership in the discovery and development of novel drugs and vaccines used worldwide.

Early life and education

Kim is of

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

descent. Kim grew up in Ridgewood,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

the son of a

single mother A single parent is a person who has a child or children but does not have a spouse or live-in partner to assist in the upbringing or support of the child. Reasons for becoming a single parent include divorce, break-up, abandonment, becoming wid ...

, and his first job was in 1974 at a Roy Rogers restaurant, where he earned money to pay for college. Kim earned his

A.B. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in chemistry at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

in 1979 where he conducted research with the late George P. Hess. He received his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in biochemistry at Stanford University under the guidance of Robert L. ("Buzz") Baldwin.

Career and research

After his PhD, Kim was appointed by

David Baltimore David Baltimore (born March 7, 1938) is an American biologist, university administrator, and 1975 Nobel laureate in Physiology or Medicine. He is President Emeritus and Distinguished Professor of Biology at the California Institute of Technolo ...

as one of the early Whitehead Fellows at the

Whitehead Institute Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research is a non-profit research institute located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States that is dedicated to improving human health through basic biomedical research. It was founded as a fiscally indepen ...

. Later, Kim was a professor of biology at

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

(MIT), a Member of the

and an investigator at the

Howard Hughes Medical Institute The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) is an American non-profit medical research organization based in Chevy Chase, Maryland. It was founded in 1953 by Howard Hughes, an American business magnate, investor, record-setting pilot, engineer, fil ...

. Kim is known for his studies of coiled coils and for discovering how

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...

s cause viral membranes to fuse with cells. He has a special interest in

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

research and designed compounds that stop membrane fusion by HIV, thereby preventing it from infecting cells, and has pioneered efforts to develop an HIV

vaccine A vaccine is a biological Dosage form, preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease, infectious or cancer, malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verifie ...

based on similar principles. Kim also served as a member of the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

(NIH) AIDS Vaccine Research Committee. Kim joined Merck Research Laboratories (MRL) in 2001 as executive vice president, Research and Development. He was promoted to president in January 2003. In this role Kim oversaw all of Merck's drug and vaccine research and development activities. During his tenure, Merck gained approval of more than 20 new medicines and vaccines. These include

Januvia Sitagliptin, sold under the brand name Januvia among others, is an anti-diabetic medication used to treat type 2 diabetes. In the United Kingdom it is listed as less preferred than metformin or a sulfonylurea. It is taken by mouth. It is also a ...

(the first DPP-4 inhibitor for

type 2 diabetes Type 2 diabetes, formerly known as adult-onset diabetes, is a form of diabetes mellitus that is characterized by high blood sugar, insulin resistance, and relative lack of insulin. Common symptoms include increased thirst, frequent urination, ...

Gardasil Gardasil is an HPV vaccine for use in the prevention of certain strains of human papillomavirus (HPV). Text was copied from this source which is copyright European Medicines Agency. Reproduction is authorized provided the source is acknowledge ...

(the first vaccine for prevention of

cervical cancer Cervical cancer is a cancer arising from the cervix. It is due to the abnormal growth of cells that have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. Early on, typically no symptoms are seen. Later symptoms may include abnormal ...

), Isentress (the first HIV integrase inhibitor),

Zostavax A zoster vaccine is a vaccine that reduces the incidence of herpes zoster (shingles), a disease caused by reactivation of the varicella zoster virus, which is also responsible for chickenpox. Shingles provokes a painful rash with blisters, and ...

(the first vaccine for the prevention of

shingles Shingles, also known as zoster or herpes zoster, is a viral disease characterized by a painful skin rash with blisters in a localized area. Typically the rash occurs in a single, wide mark either on the left or right side of the body or face. ...

in adults), and

Rotateq Rotavirus vaccine is a vaccine used to protect against rotavirus infections, which are the leading cause of severe diarrhea among young children. The vaccines prevent 15–34% of severe diarrhea in the developing world and 37–96% of s ...

(an oral vaccine for the prevention of

rotavirus ''Rotavirus'' is a genus of double-stranded RNA viruses in the family ''Reoviridae''. Rotaviruses are the most common cause of diarrhoeal disease among infants and young children. Nearly every child in the world is infected with a rotavirus a ...

infection in infants). He also led the biomarker-based development of

Keytruda Pembrolizumab, sold under the brand name Keytruda, is a humanized antibody used in cancer immunotherapy that treats melanoma, lung cancer, head and neck cancer, Hodgkin lymphoma, stomach cancer, cervical cancer, and certain types of breast can ...

. In 2013, he retired from Merck and was succeeded by Roger Perlmutter. He was appointed to the faculty at Stanford University in 2014.

Awards and honors

Kim is a member of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

, the

National Academy of Medicine The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), formerly called the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, En ...

, the

, and a fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

. Other honors include: *

NAS Award in Molecular Biology The NAS Award in Molecular Biology is awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences "for recent notable discovery in molecular biology by a young scientist who is a citizen of the United States." It has been awarded annually since its inceptio ...

(1993) *

Eli Lilly Award in Biological Chemistry The Eli Lilly Award in Biological Chemistry was established in 1934. Consisting of a bronze medal and honorarium, its purpose is to stimulate fundamental research in biological chemistry by scientists not over thirty-eight years of age. The Award i ...

(1994) *DuPont Merck Young Investigator Award of the

Protein Society The Protein Society is an international, not-for-profit, scholarly society with the mission to provide forums for the advancement of research into protein structure, function, design and applications. History It was founded in 1986, with the lea ...

(1994) * Samsung Foundation Ho-Am Prize in Basic Science (1998) *The Hans Neurath Award of the

(1999) *Doctor of Science, Honoris Causa,

Pohang University of Science and Technology Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) is a private research university in Pohang, South Korea. History POSTECH was established in 1986 in Pohang, Korea by POSCO, a steel company. POSTECH hosted POSCO's Research Institute of Sc ...

(2011) *The Arthur Kornberg and Paul Berg Lifetime Achievement Award in Biomedical Sciences, Stanford University (2018)

Board memberships and affiliations

*Medical Advisory Board,

*Scientific Advisory Working Group, Vaccine Research Center,

NIH The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

Elected memberships

*Member,

(formerly

Institute of Medicine The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), formerly called the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, E ...

) *Member,

*Member,

*Fellow,

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

*Fellow,

American Academy of Microbiology The American Society for Microbiology (ASM), originally the Society of American Bacteriologists, is a professional organization for scientists who study viruses, bacteria, fungi, algae, and protozoa as well as other aspects of microbiology. It wa ...

*Fellow, Biophysical Society *Member,

Korean Academy of Science and Technology The Korean Academy of Science and Technology (KAST) is South Korea's highest academy of science and serves as an integrated think-tank for the country's science and technology. It contributes to national development by promoting science and techn ...

Service

MIT Corporation The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...

, Visiting Committee, Department of Biology, MIT *HARC (HIV Accessory and Regulatory Complexes) Scientific Advisory Board,

University of California, San Francisco The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a public land-grant research university in San Francisco, California. It is part of the University of California system and is dedicated entirely to health science and life science. It cond ...

*External Scientific Advisory Board, Harvard Program in Therapeutic Science,

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Peter S. 1958 births American health care businesspeople American people of Korean descent Businesspeople in the pharmaceutical industry Cornell University alumni Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Howard Hughes Medical Investigators Living people Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science faculty Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Merck Group people People from Ridgewood, New Jersey Place of birth missing (living people) Recipients of the Ho-Am Prize in Science Stanford University School of Medicine alumni American biochemists Members of the National Academy of Medicine