Northwell Health Appoints Brian S. Kim as First Chief Biotechnology Officer to Accelerate Bioelectronic Medicine Commercialization
核心洞察
Brian S. Kim, MD, MTR, joins Northwell Health as its first chief biotechnology officer, overseeing biotechnology strategy and intellectual asset management at the Feinstein Institutes.
Dr. Kim's research contributed to two first-in-class FDA-approved therapies for atopic dermatitis (搜索) and prurigo nodularis (搜索), and he has authored over 190 peer-reviewed publications.
He will advance bioelectronic medicine research, building on the Feinstein Institutes' pioneering work that led to the first FDA-approved vagus nerve stimulation implant for rheumatoid arthritis (搜索) in 2025.
Northwell Health has appointed renowned physician-scientist Brian S. Kim, MD, MTR, as its first chief biotechnology officer, signaling an intensified push to translate laboratory discoveries in bioelectronic medicine and neuroimmunology into clinical therapies. The appointment, announced today by The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research (搜索), positions Dr. Kim at the intersection of academic research, clinical innovation, and biotechnology commercialization.
Dr. Kim will serve as vice president and chief biotechnology officer at Northwell, head of intellectual asset management at the Feinstein Institutes, and the inaugural Robin and Jack Ross Chair in Bioelectronic Medicine and Neuroimmunology. He will also hold a professorship in the Institute of Bioelectronic Medicine and a faculty appointment in Northwell Health's Department of Dermatology.
"Dr. Kim bridges medical research, clinical innovation and biotechnology entrepreneurship, and will innovate the field of bioelectronic medicine," said Kevin J. Tracey, MD, president and CEO of the Feinstein Institutes and the Karches Family Distinguished Chair in Medical Research. "As our first chief biotechnology officer, he will accelerate discoveries from our labs into useful treatments that reach patients faster."
A Track Record of Translational Success
Dr. Kim joins Northwell from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where he built an internationally recognized career as a dermatologist and physician-scientist. He has authored more than 190 peer-reviewed publications in leading journals, including Cell, Nature, Science, New England Journal of Medicine, and JAMA, and has maintained continuous funding from the National Institutes of Health since 2011.
His research has directly contributed to significant clinical advances, including the design of pivotal clinical trials that resulted in two first-in-class U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved treatments for atopic dermatitis (搜索) and prurigo nodularis (搜索). As an inventor of itch-centered technologies and holder of multiple patents, Dr. Kim co-founded Alys Pharmaceuticals (搜索), a clinical-stage immuno-dermatology biotech company, as well as Neurommune Therapeutics (搜索) and Attu Therapeutics (搜索), where he serves as chair of the scientific advisory board.
Dr. Kim also leads the Allen Discovery Center for Neuroimmune Interactions, a $10 million multi-institutional center funded by Allen Family Philanthropies.
Advancing Bioelectronic Medicine
The Feinstein Institutes is recognized as the global pioneer in bioelectronic medicine, a field that uses electrical stimulation of the nervous system to treat disease. Under Dr. Tracey's leadership, researchers discovered the inflammatory reflex and demonstrated that the nervous system can be harnessed to control inflammation and immune responses. This groundbreaking work led to the first FDA-approved vagus nerve stimulation implant to treat rheumatoid arthritis (搜索) in 2025, with ongoing research addressing Crohn's disease (搜索) and other inflammatory conditions.
In his new role, Dr. Kim will help advance these research programs while supporting Northwell's new clinical Center for Bioelectronic Medicine, which brings cutting-edge therapies to patients with previously treatment-resistant conditions.
"The opportunity to lead biotechnology initiatives while advancing bioelectronic medicine and neuroimmunology research represents the perfect union of my clinical, scientific and entrepreneurial passion and expertise," said Dr. Kim. "I'm eager to collaborate with all of the teams at the Feinstein Institutes and colleagues throughout Northwell Health to speed up the process of bringing laboratory breakthroughs into practice."
Strategic Leadership and Recognition
Dr. Kim's endowed chair is made possible by the generosity of Feinstein Institutes board vice chairman Jack Ross and his wife, Robin, assistant vice president of principal gifts at Northwell Health. His contributions to medicine have been recognized with numerous prestigious awards, including the Marion B. Sulzberger Award, Stephen I. Katz Lectureship, Donald Y. M. Leung Award, American Skin Association Research Achievement Award in Discovery, and the Young Dermatologist Achievement Award from the International League of Dermatological Societies. He has also served on the editorial boards of several prominent journals, including the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Journal of Immunology, eLife, and Cell Reports Medicine.
"Dr. Kim's appointment reflects our commitment to transforming bold research into better outcomes for our patients," said John D'Angelo, MD, Northwell's president and CEO. "With his leadership, we can better translate breakthrough science and pioneer the future of medicine while staying grounded in our mission to produce knowledge to cure disease."
The Feinstein Institutes encompasses more than 50 research labs, approximately 3,000 clinical research studies, and roughly 5,000 researchers and staff across six institutes spanning behavioral science, bioelectronic medicine, cancer, health system science, molecular medicine, and translational research.