Interview with KCS-Wiley Young Chemist Award Winners The KCS-Wiley Young Chemist Awards are awarded annually to young Korean chemists below the age of 40, in recognition of their brilliant research and significant contributions to the community. This year’s winners are Jun Soo Kim and Mi Hee Lim.
We are privileged to share our exclusive interviews with Dr. Kim and Dr. Lim. Read on for more!

Interview with Dr. Mi Hee Lim
Mi Hee Lim studied chemistry at Ewha Womans Unviersity, Seoul, South Korea and received her Ph. D. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA, USA. She pursued her postdoctoral research at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Pasadena, CA, USA and is now an Associate Professor of Chemistry, in Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan, South Korea.

WAB: Briefly introduce your work and the significance behind your research.
Dr. Lim: Our current research focuses on elucidating the roles of metals, proteins, and reactive oxygen species in human neurodegenerative diseases (particularly, Alzheimer’s disease). Our recent findings uncovered novel approaches for deciphering neurodegenerative disorders, with special emphasis on intercommunications among multiple factors (i.e., metals, amyloidogenic proteins, reactive oxygen species, and other disease-related proteins). Based on such outcomes, we plan to discover effective diagnostics and therapeutics for human neurodegenerative disorders.

WAB: Who or what inspired you to enter research?
Dr. Lim: My parents have been a continual inspiration behind my decision to enter this area of research. As we age, we become more prone to falling sick. I hope to provide a more comfortable life for our elderly after they retire from their jobs and duties.

WAB: What is the alternative career path you would have chosen if you were not a scientist?
Dr. Lim: I would have loved to be an oil painter. The individual components and resulting mixtures of colors all have to do with chemistry. Mixing oil together with the paint allows us to express our feelings in an inexplicable manner – such is the beauty of oil painting.
Browse through Mi Hee Lim’s recent publication:

• • Tools of the Trade: Investigations into Design Strategies of Small Molecules to Target Components in Alzheimer’s Disease,
    ChemBioChem 2015, 16, 887–898.