Young Dermatologist Achievement Award 2019: Brian Kim

The Young Dermatologist Achievement Award (YDAA) is presented to five individuals; one from each ILDS Region: Asia Pacific; Europe; Latin America and the Caribbean; South Asia, the Middle East and Africa; USA and Canada. Dr Brian Kim was selected for the USA and Canada region from the nominations submitted by ILDS Members. [ric id="7157" srcmoduleimage="https://ilds.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Brian-Kim-360x260.jpg" srcsquare="https://ilds.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Brian-Kim-360x360.jpg" srcoriginal="https://ilds.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Brian-Kim-450x300.jpg" srcvideo="https://ilds.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Brian-Kim-320x180.jpg" srcnarrow="https://ilds.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Brian-Kim-475x100.jpg" alt="" caption="Dr. Brian Kim and MD/PhD student Landon Oetjen with patient Donald Hodges who suffers from chronic pruritus of unknown origin" classes="center" format="original"] Brian specialises in medical dermatology and, specifically, understanding and treating chronic itch disorders like atopic dermatitis, chronic pruritus of unknown origin, and prurigo nodularis. His work is mainly based in basic science that involves many international collaborations across both academia and industry including countries like China, Denmark, Japan, South Africa, and South Korea. Numerous trainees come to his laboratory and clinic from many different countries to learn basic itch biology as well as how to diagnose and treat chronic itch disorders. When asked of what he was most proud Brian said "I am most proud of the fact that we have been able to make multiple fundamental discoveries that have shaped our basic understanding of biology, while simultaneously informing, accelerating, and developing treatments that have directly changed patient care." For Brian, being recognised with a YDAA means that his esteemed colleagues feel that their work has made a major impact on dermatology and ultimately their patients. "I have always felt that the ultimate value of our discoveries resides in whether we change dermatology and what we do for our patients. This recognition is a humbling validation that our efforts were not in vain and further inspires me to do much more in the future" In the future, Brian hopes to discover new drugs for patients who suffer from highly unmet chronic itch disorders that are poorly recognised and deemed too difficult to understand and treat.