Soyun Kim
Biography
Soyun Kim, Ph.D., is an Associate Project Scientist in the Department of Neurobiology & Behavior at the University of California, Irvine. Her research focuses on memory systems and Alzheimer's disease, examining how medial temporal lobe structures and neural circuits support memory function in both healthy individuals and those with cognitive impairment. Kim received her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Southern California, where she studied classical eyeblink conditioning and the role of the cerebellum, followed by postdoctoral training at the University of California, San Diego under Dr. Larry R. Squire.
Kim's work spans investigations of memory-impaired patients with hippocampal lesions and neuroimaging studies of older adults at risk for Alzheimer's disease. Her research has examined spatial memory, path integration, scene construction, and visual discrimination in patients with medial temporal lobe damage. More recently, her work has focused on mnemonic discrimination as a sensitive cognitive marker for early Alzheimer's disease, investigating relationships between memory performance, brain structure and connectivity, and biomarkers of amyloid-beta pathology. She has also contributed to studies examining cerebellar changes in Alzheimer's disease and the utility of various biomarkers in cognitively unimpaired older adults.
Kim is an elected member of the International Society for Behavioral Neuroscience and serves as an Associate Editor for Bio-protocol.org. She has presented her research at numerous national and international conferences and has been invited to speak at institutions in the United States, Canada, and South Korea. Kim has mentored undergraduate research assistants and staff research associates and has been active in community outreach, serving as a judge and mentor for science fairs in the Irvine Unified School District and at the state level.
Return to topEducation
- Ph.D. in Neuroscience, University of Southern California, 2010
- B.Sc. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of British Columbia, 2004
Distinctions
- Elected member, International Society for Behavioral Neuroscience, 2023
- Dean's List, University of British Columbia, 2001-2004
- University Scholarship Program Scholarship, University of British Columbia, 2001-2004
- Vancouver Korean Scholarship Foundation Scholarship, 2003
Areas of Expertise
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Hippocampal Memory Systems
- Eyeblink Conditioning Mechanisms
- Spatial Mental Imagery
- Alzheimer's Disease Biomarkers
- Mnemonic Discrimination Performance
- Cerebellar Functional Connectivity
Recent Publications
- Parker DM, Adams JN, Kim S, McMillan L, Yassa MA, Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, “NODDI-derived measures of microstructural integrity in medial temporal lobe white matter pathways are associated with Alzheimer's disease pathology and cognitive outcomes”, Imaging Neurosci (Camb), vol. 3, 2025.
- Bamford AR, Adams JN, Kim S, Taylor LM, Tuteja N, McMillan LC, Sattari N, Chen IY, Chappel-Farley MG, Escalante Y, Lawrence AL, Meza NJ, Berisha DE, Dave A, Malhas R, Mapstone M, Mander BA, Yassa MA, Thomas EA, “Salivary levels of amyloid beta are positively correlated with brain amyloid burden in cognitively-normal older adults” (opens in new tab), Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer S Disease, vol. 12, no. 7, pp. 100216, 2025.
- Chappel-Farley MG, Adams JN, Betzel RF, Janecek JC, Sattari NS, Berisha DE, Meza NJ, Niknazar H, Kim S, Dave A, Chen IY, Lui KK, Neikrug AB, Benca RM, Yassa MA, Mander BA, “Medial temporal lobe functional network architecture supports sleep-related emotional memory processing in older adults” (opens in new tab), Sleep, vol. 48, no. 9, pp. zsaf117, 2025.
- Vanderlip CR, Taylor L, Kim S, Harris AL, Tuteja N, Meza N, Escalante YY, McMillan L, Yassa MA, Adams JN, “Amyloid-β deposition in basal frontotemporal cortex is associated with selective disruption of temporal mnemonic discrimination” (opens in new tab), Journal of Neuroscience, vol. 22, pp. e1605242025, 2025.
- Rizvi B, Adams JN, Bamford A, Sathishkumar M, Kim S, McMillan L, Brickman AM, Mapstone M, Thomas EA, Yassa MA, “Interplay of inflammatory, vascular, and Alzheimer's disease biomarkers in cognitively unimpaired older adults”, Alzheimer's Dement., vol. 20, pp. e091623, 2024.
- Bamford A, Adams JN, Kim S, McMillan L, Malhas R, Hitt BD, Mapstone M, Yassa MA, Thomas E, “The amyloid beta 42/38 ratio as a plasma biomarker of early memory deficits in cognitively unimpaired older adults” (opens in new tab), Neurobiology of Aging, vol. 144, pp. 12-18, 2024.
- Kim S, Adams JN, Chappel-Farley MG, Keator D, Janecek J, Taylor L, Mikhail A, Hollearn M, McMillan L, Rapp P, Yassa MA, “Examining the diagnostic value of the mnemonic discrimination task for classification of cognitive status and amyloid-beta burden” (opens in new tab), Neuropsychologia, vol. 191, pp. 108727, 2023.
- Rizvi B, Adams JN, Sathishkumar M, Kim S, Larson MS, Tustison NJ, McMillan L, Brickman AM, Greenia D, Corrada MM, Kawas CH, Yassa MA, “Posterior cerebral artery-defined white matter hyperintensities are associated with object domain memory and transentorhinal volume independently of global beta-amyloid burden”, Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, vol. 29, no. s1, pp. 611-612, 2023.
- Rizvi B, Sathishkumar M, Kim S, Márquez F, Granger SJ, Larson MS, Miranda BA, Hollearn MK, McMillan L, Nan B, Tustison NJ, Lao PJ, Brickman AM, Greenia D, Corrada MM, Kawas CH, Yassa MA, “Posterior white matter hyperintensities are associated with reduced medial temporal lobe subregional integrity and long-term memory in older adults” (opens in new tab), Neuroimage Clinical, vol. 37, pp. 103308, 2022.
- Parkin GM, Kim S, Mikhail A, Malhas R, McMillan L, Hollearn M, Granger DA, Mapstone M, Yassa MA, Thomas EA, “Associations between saliva and plasma cytokines in cognitively-normal, older adults” (opens in new tab), Aging Clinical and Experimental Research, vol. 35, no. 1, pp. 117-126, 2022.
- Adams J, Kim S, Rizvi B, Sathishkumar M, Taylor L, Harris A, Mikhail A, Keator D, McMillan L, Yassa MA, “Entorhinal-hippocampal circuit integrity is related to mnemonic discrimination and amyloid-β pathology in older adults” (opens in new tab), Journal of Neuroscience, vol. 42, pp. 8742-8753, 2022.
- Kim, S., DiProspero, N.D., Yassa, M.A., “MRI Biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease in Down syndrome”, The Neurobiology of Aging and Alzheimer disease in Down syndrome, Elsevier Press, 2021.
- DiProspero N.D., Kim S., Yassa M.A., “Magnetic resonance imaging biomarkers for cognitive decline in Down syndrome” (opens in new tab), Neurobiology of Aging and Alzheimer Disease in Down Syndrome, pp. 149-172, 2021.
- Squire LR, Kim S, Frascino JC, Annese J, Bennett J, Insausti R, Amaral DG, “Neuropsychological and neuropathological observations of a long-studied case of memory impairment” (opens in new tab), Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 117, pp. 29883-93, 2020.
- Urgolites ZJ, Kim S, Hopkins RO, Squire LR, “Map reading, navigating from maps, and the medial temporal lobe” (opens in new tab), Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 113, pp. 14289-93, 2016.
- Kim S, Dede AJO, Hopkins RO, Squire LR, “Memory, scene construction, and the human hippocampus” (opens in new tab), Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 112, pp. 4767-72, 2015.
- Kim S, Borst G, Thompson W, Hopkins RO, Kosslyn SM, Squire LR, “Sparing of spatial mental imagery in patients with hippocampal lesions” (opens in new tab), Learning and Memory, vol. 20, pp. 657-663, 2013.
- Kim S, Sapiurka M, Clark RE, Squire LR, “Contrasting effects on path integration after hippocampal damage in humans and rats” (opens in new tab), Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 110, pp. 4732-4737, 2013.
- Kim, S., “Cognitive maps; Delay conditioning; Interpositus nucleus; Knockout Mice”, Encyclopedia of human memory, ABC-Clio Publishers, 2013.
Contact Information
Email: soyun.kim@uci.edu
Phone: (949) 824-3919
Address: 1410 Biological Sciences III
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Last updated on 6/25/2026.