Invited Speakers
  • Sang Taek Kim
    Yale Univ.
    USA
  • Sang Kim, MD, PhD, is a physician-scientist whose research centers on immune checkpoint biology in human disease. His work seeks to elucidate how immune checkpoint receptors regulate physiologic immune responses and how their dysregulation contributes to immune-related adverse events (irAEs) associated with cancer immunotherapy, spontaneous autoimmunity, and transplant rejection.
    Dr. Kim graduated from Yonsei University College of Medicine in 2003. Following completion of his medical training at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, he pursued subspecialty training in rheumatology at Yale University, where he also earned a PhD in Immunobiology under the mentorship of Drs. Joseph Craft and Insoo Kang. During his doctoral training, he identified and characterized a novel CD4+ T-cell subset in human tonsils that supports memory B-cell immunoglobulin production. This work, published in the Journal of Immunology, established a strong foundation in human immunology and adaptive immune regulation.
    He subsequently joined the faculty at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC), where he established a translational research program investigating the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying immunotoxicities induced by immune-based cancer therapies, including immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), CAR T-cell therapy, cancer vaccines, and adoptive T-cell transfer. His research has focused on understanding how therapeutic modulation of immune checkpoints can precipitate autoimmune complications while preserving antitumor efficacy.
    In 2023, Dr. Kim returned to Yale University, where he serves as Director of the Rheumatology Immunotoxicity Clinic. He leads an integrated clinical and research program dedicated to the care of patients with rheumatic irAEs and to the mechanistic investigation of checkpoint-associated autoimmunity in irAEs, classical autoimmune diseases, and transplantation. His current work integrates human immunophenotyping, translational models, and biomarker discovery approaches to develop rational therapeutic strategies.
    Research & Clinical Focus

    Mechanistic investigation of immune checkpoint receptor signaling across cancer immunotherapy, spont

    Biomarker discovery to predict immune-related adverse events and/or autoimmune flares during immune-

    Translational development of immune checkpoint agonists for the treatment of autoimmune diseases

    • Date Time Room Session Title Lecture Title
    May 16 09:00-10:00 Room 1 (3F) Keynote Lecture 2 Immune Checkpoint Receptors in Autoimmune Diseases