Dr. Kim seeks to develop new methodologies for recording and perturbing neuronal activity in animal models, specifically in brain regions implicated in neuropsychiatric diseases. Specifically, her lab engineers technologies to identify molecular biomarkers in neurons modulated by novel therapeutic drugs for treating depression and anxiety. She aims to determine which specific neurons and molecules can be targeted to improve disease symptoms. The hope is that an understanding of the targeted cellular mechanisms of therapeutic drugs in the brain can serve as the basis for designing modifications to these agents to increase their specificity and reduce their undesired side effects