World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!

D-Index & Metrics

Microbiology

D-Index
89
Citations
23295
World Ranking
740
National Ranking
345

Overview

Kwang Sik Kim was affiliated with Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in the United States. Their research intersected multiple domains within medicine and biochemistry, with a focus on microbiology and molecular biology. Throughout their career, they contributed to understanding bacterial infections, neuroinflammation, and the mechanisms underlying barrier function in biological systems.

Their published work covered a variety of topics including bacterial infections and vaccines, pneumonia and respiratory infections, barrier structure and function studies, RNA and protein synthesis mechanisms, streptococcal infections and treatments, neonatal and maternal infections, and neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration mechanisms.

Frequent coauthors included Ningyu Zhu, Kyusoon Shin, Jong Wook Hong, Wei Liu, and Atish Prakash, each of whom collaborated in multiple studies alongside Kim.

Their research has appeared in several scientific journals, notably:

  • Cell Reports
  • Cellular Microbiology
  • Frontiers in Microbiology
  • Journal of Materials Research and Technology
  • ACS Omega

Selected recent publications include:

  • Bacteria reduce flagellin synthesis to evade microglia-astrocyte-driven immunity in the brain (2022, Cell Reports)
  • Targeting E. coli invasion of the blood-brain barrier for investigating the pathogenesis and therapeutic development of E. coli meningitis (2020, Cellular Microbiology)
  • Gut Bacteria of Rattus rattus (Rat) Produce Broad-Spectrum Antibacterial Lipopeptides (2021, ACS Omega)
  • Human Placental Trophoblasts Are Resistant to Trypanosoma cruzi Infection in a 3D-Culture Model of the Maternal-Fetal Interface (2021, Frontiers in Microbiology)
  • Design of nano-scale multilayered nitride hard coatings deposited by arc ion plating process: Microstructural and mechanical characterization (2021, Journal of Materials Research and Technology)

Their work addressed complex biological barriers and infectious pathogens, often exploring mechanisms at the molecular and cellular levels. Studies on bacterial evasion of immune responses in the brain and investigations into the blood-brain barrier exemplify this approach.

In addition to microbiology and molecular biology, their research also included epidemiology, neurology, and public health-related fields. This multidisciplinary approach reflected the broad impact of infectious diseases on various physiological and clinical contexts.

Best Publications

  • Clinical characteristics of children with complicated pneumonia caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae

    Tina Q. Tan;Edward O. Mason;Ellen R. Wald;William J. Barson

  • Mechanisms of microbial traversal of the blood–brain barrier

    Kwang Sik Kim

  • PATHOGENESIS OF BACTERIAL MENINGITIS: FROM BACTERAEMIA TO NEURONAL INJURY

    Kwang Sik Kim

  • Surfactant proteins A and D inhibit the growth of Gram-negative bacteria by increasing membrane permeability

    Huixing Wu;Alexander Kuzmenko;Sijue Wan;Lyndsay Schaffer

  • Acute bacterial meningitis in infants and children

    Kwang Sik Kim

  • Degradation of outer membrane protein A in Escherichia coli killing by neutrophil elastase

    Abderr azzaq Belaaouaj;Kwang Sik Kim;Steven D. Shapiro

  • Selective expression of adhesion molecules on human brain microvascular endothelial cells

    Monique F Stins;Floyd Gilles;Kwang Sik Kim

  • Bacterial invasion and transcytosis in transfected human brain microvascular endothelial cells.

    Monique F. Stins;Julie Badger;Kwang Sik Kim

  • Cryptococcal Yeast Cells Invade the Central Nervous System via Transcellular Penetration of the Blood-Brain Barrier

    Yun C. Chang;Monique F. Stins;Michael J. McCaffery;Georgina F. Miller

  • Interaction of Listeria monocytogenes with human brain microvascular endothelial cells: InlB-dependent invasion, long-term intracellular growth, and spread from macrophages to endothelial cells

    Lars Greiffenberg;Werner Goebel;Kwang Sik Kim;Kwang Sik Kim;Inge Weiglein

  • Comparison of extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli strains from human and avian sources reveals a mixed subset representing potential zoonotic pathogens

    Timothy J. Johnson;Timothy J. Johnson;Yvonne Wannemuehler;Sara J. Johnson;Adam L. Stell

  • Human astrocytes/astrocyte-conditioned medium and shear stress enhance the barrier properties of human brain microvascular endothelial cells.

    Venkatraman Siddharthan;Yuri V. Kim;Suyi Liu;Kwang Sik Kim

  • Binding of Candida albicans enolase to plasmin(ogen) results in enhanced invasion of human brain microvascular endothelial cells.

    Ambrose Y. Jong;Steven H.M. Chen;Monique F. Stins;Kwang Sik Kim

  • Hepatitis C Virus Infects the Endothelial Cells of the Blood-Brain Barrier

    Nicola F. Fletcher;Garrick K. Wilson;Jacinta Murray;Ke Hu

  • Escherichia coli Isolates That Carry vat, fyuA, chuA, and yfcV Efficiently Colonize the Urinary Tract

    Rachel R. Spurbeck;Paul C. Dinh;Seth T. Walk;Ann E. Stapleton

  • Cryptococcus neoformans induces alterations in the cytoskeleton of human brain microvascular endothelial cells.

    Steven H.M. Chen;Monique F. Stins;Sheng He Huang;Yu Hua Chen

  • TNF- α Opens a Paracellular Route for HIV-1 Invasion across the Blood-Brain Barrier

    Milan Fiala;David J. Looney;Monique Stins;Dennis D. Way

  • Host cell interactions of outer membrane vesicle-associated virulence factors of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157: Intracellular delivery, trafficking and mechanisms of cell injury.

    Martina Bielaszewska;Christian Rüter;Andreas Bauwens;Lilo Greune

  • Real-time imaging of trapping and urease-dependent transmigration of Cryptococcus neoformans in mouse brain

    Meiqing Shi;Shu Shun Li;Chunfu Zheng;Gareth J. Jones

  • Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli hemolysin employs outer membrane vesicles to target mitochondria and cause endothelial and epithelial apoptosis

    Martina Bielaszewska;Christian Rüter;Lisa Kunsmann;Lilo Greune

  • Pneumolysin is the main inducer of cytotoxicity to brain microvascular endothelial cells caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae

    Gregor Zysk;Barbara Katharina Schneider-Wald;Jae Hyuk Hwang;Levente Bejo

  • PavA of Streptococcus pneumoniae Modulates Adherence, Invasion, and Meningeal Inflammation

    Daniela Pracht;Christine Elm;Joachim Gerber;Simone Bergmann

  • Streptococcus suis serotype 2 interactions with human brain microvascular endothelial cells

    Nathalie Charland;Victor Nizet;Craig E. Rubens;Kwang Sik Kim

Frequent Co-Authors

Monique F. Stins
Monique F. Stins Johns Hopkins University
Naveed Ahmed Khan
Naveed Ahmed Khan University of Sharjah
Sheldon L. Kaplan
Sheldon L. Kaplan Baylor College of Medicine
Nemani V. Prasadarao
Nemani V. Prasadarao University of Southern California
Edward O. Mason
Edward O. Mason Baylor College of Medicine
Ram Yogev
Ram Yogev Northwestern University
Ellen R. Wald
Ellen R. Wald University of Wisconsin–Madison
John S. Bradley
John S. Bradley University of California, San Diego
Tina Q. Tan
Tina Q. Tan Northwestern University
M. Alexander Schmidt
M. Alexander Schmidt University of Münster

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Best Scientists Citing Kwang Sik Kim