Min Jung Kim has been studying, and will continue to study, the functional roles of dopamine in relation to the striatum that governs behavioral adaptations, such as learning, motivated actions and habit formation. There are ample evidences that dopamine in the striatum is a key neuromodulator enabling actions properly adapted according to what is needed, but the essential principles governing the functions are poorly understood. This requires multifaceted and the state of the art approach on behaving animals. To achieve this, she has utilized and will employ various in vivo methods, such as electrophysiological, electrochemical, optogenetic/pharmacological, and imaging techniques while animals perform various tasks. The results of her work will advance basic scientific knowledge about how the motivated behaviors are governed and how the striatal circuits interact with the dopamine system. Her research may also identify possible clinical targets for the treatment and/or prevention of Parkinson’s disease, mood disorders and other mental illnesses caused by abnormal regulation or loss of dopamine.
Outside of research, she spends most of her time with traveling, social activities with friends or meditating at a park. She loves walking on trails of Mt. Auburn cemetery or Fresh pond in the early mornings, watching night scenery of Charles river, and attending summer programs at Tanglewood. She easily discovers her delight with coffee, dark beer, pinot noir, dark chocolate, blue sky, and various sound of wind. During commute, she is dedicated to read mangas (Japanese comic books). She loves hiking a mountain but her sport-induced asthma prevents her doing it significantly (but she still challenges herself from time to time).
Email: mjk1028@mit.edu
Outside of research, she spends most of her time with traveling, social activities with friends or meditating at a park. She loves walking on trails of Mt. Auburn cemetery or Fresh pond in the early mornings, watching night scenery of Charles river, and attending summer programs at Tanglewood. She easily discovers her delight with coffee, dark beer, pinot noir, dark chocolate, blue sky, and various sound of wind. During commute, she is dedicated to read mangas (Japanese comic books). She loves hiking a mountain but her sport-induced asthma prevents her doing it significantly (but she still challenges herself from time to time).
Email: mjk1028@mit.edu