Seungha Kim received his undergraduate degree in Nursing from Chung-Ang University in 2015 and obtained a registered nurse license. To deepen his understanding of basic medical science, he pursued a Ph.D. in Biomedical Science with a focus on Neurophysiology at Seoul National University College of Medicine under the supervision of Professor Sang Jeong Kim. His doctoral research revealed a novel role of cerebellar Bergmann glial cells in pain modulation, and he earned his Ph.D. in 2024. He then conducted postdoctoral research under the supervision of Dr. Sebastian Choi at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW) for one year. In 2025, he joined Dr. Min-Ho Nam’s laboratory at KIST as a postdoctoral researcher.
Education
03/2016 – 08/2024
Ph.D. Biomedical Sciences & Physiology
Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
Thesis: Mechanisms of sensory processing and pain modulation in the cerebellum
Advisor: Prof. Sang Jeong Kim
03/2009 – 02/2015
BSN, Nursing
Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Korea
(Military Service in the Republic of Korea Army, 2010-2011)
Research
11/2025 – Present
Postdoctral Fellow / Brain Pool Invited Scientist KIST
Advisor: Min-Ho Nam, KMD, PhD
09/2024 – 09/2025
Postdoctoral Fellow
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry
Advisor: Prof. Seungwon (Sebastian) Choi
Publications
SH Kim*, J Lee*, M Jang, SE Roh, S Kim, JH Lee, J Seo, J Baek, JY Hwang, IS Baek, YS Lee, E Shigetomi, CJ Lee, S Koizumi, SK Kim, SJ Kim. Cerebellar Bergmann glia integrate noxious information modulate nocifensive behaviours. (2025). Nature Neuroscience. *Equal contribution
J Seo*, SH Kim*, J Lee*, MS Kim, YS Lee, SJ Kim. Acquisition phase-specific contribution of climbing fiber transmission to cerebellum-dependent motor memory. (2025). eLife. *Equal contribution
SE Roh*, SH Kim*, C Ryu, CE Kim, YG Kim, PF Worley, SK Kim, SJ Kim. (2020). Direct translation of climbing fiber burst-mediated sensory coding into post-synaptic Purkinje cell dendritic calcium. eLife. *Equal contribution
M Jang, J Lee, SH Kim, SH Yoon, MH Kim, YS Lee, SK Kim, G Chung, SJ KIm. (2025). Increased mGluR5 in somatostatin-positive interneurons mediates deactivation of the mPFC in a mouse model of neuropathic pain. Experimental & Molecular Medicine.
J Lee, SH Kim, DC Jang, M jang, MS Bak, HG Shim, YS Lee, SJ Kim. (2023). Intrinsic plasticity of Purkinje cell serves homeostatic regulation of fear memory. Molecular Psychiatry.
H Yoon*, MS Bak*, SH Kim, JH Lee, G Chung, SJ Kim, SK Kim. (2022). Development of a spontaneous pain indicator based on brain cellular calcium using deep learning. Experimental & Molecular Medicine.
JJ Han*, TS Noh*, MW Suh, SH Kim, DH Kim, SJ Kim, SH Oh (2022). Synaptic Remodeling of the Auditory Cortex Following Bilateral Blindness: Evidence of Cross-modal Plasticity. Experimental Neurobiology.
G Chung, HG Shim, CY Kim, H-H Ryu, DC Jang, SH Kim, J Lee, C-E Kim, YK Kim, Y-S Lee, J Kim, SK Kim, PF Worley, SJ Kim (2020). Persistent activity of metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 in the periaqueductal gray constrains emergence of chronic neuropathic pain. Current Biology.
HG Shim*, SS Jang*, SH Kim, EM Hwang, JO min, HY Kim, YS Kim, C Ryu, G Chung, Y Kim, BE Yoon, SJ Kim. (2018). TNF-α increases the intrinsic excitability of cerebellar Purkinje cells through elevating glutamate release in Bergmann Glia. Scientific reports.
Awards
◦ Research Award for 2024, AKN Predoctoral Award, Association of Korean Neuroscientists, Oct. 2024
◦ Best Thesis Award, Seoul National University Biomedical Science Program, Apr. 2021
◦ Best oral presentation award, Korea Pain Research Consortium, Feb. 2019
