Hello, I’ve recently updated my name to Brian Kim. You can find my previous work using the names ‘Bill Kim’ or ‘Yongjoo Kim’, which I’ve noted in the Publications section. Thank you.
S. Brian Kim, Ph.D.
(Formerly 'Bill Kim')
Principal Investigator
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry
Centre for Research on Biological Interactions (CRBI)
Dr. Kim is an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry at York University. His research focuses on finding new ways of creating genetic diversity using CRISPR technology.
Dr. Kim completed his undergraduate study at the University of Toronto, where he first encountered the elegance of proteins and how new function can be created through molecular evolution, while working with Professor G. Andrew Woolley for his 4th year project. He then went on to complete his PhD study at Harvard University with Professor David R. Liu, where he was a part of the group that invented the first cytosine base editor (CBE), which was featured as a finalist for ‘Breakthrough of the Year’ by Science magazine in 2017. Afterwards, Dr. Kim applied his base editing expertise at Pairwise Plants, a startup company focused on agriculture. There, he expanded the mutagenic capabilities of base editors and other new genome editing proteins, resulting in over 10 pending or granted patent applications. At the same time, he gained a valuable insight on how technology translates into real-world value. Dr. Kim joined York University as an assistant professor in 2023.
Education and Experience
2018-2023
Pairwise Plants LLC
Durham, NC, USA
Senior Scientist and Director of Mammalian Cell Facility
Topics: CRISPR base diversification, REDRAW (RNA-encoded DNA replacement of alleles)
2012-2018
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA, USA
Graduate Student
with Prof. David R. Liu
Topics: CRISPR base editing, lipid nanoparticle protein delivery
2007-2012
University of Toronto
Toronto, ON, Canada
Undergraduate Student
with Prof. G. Andrew Woolley
Topics: Light-switchable DNA binding proteins (optogenetics)