Environmental Autoimmunity Group

Research Summary

Hanna Kim, M.S., M.D., is a clinical investigator in rheumatology with expertise in pediatric rheumatology and a special focus on myositis, including juvenile myositis. She is board certified in pediatric rheumatology. 

As a member of the Environmental Autoimmunity Group, Kim studies the genetic, environmental, and immune mechanisms that contribute to the development and clinical expression of autoimmune diseases. The group conducts clinical, translational, and basic research in adult and pediatric autoimmune diseases, with the goal of improving health, reducing disease burden, and identifying strategies for prevention and treatment. 

Kim leads several research studies and oversees pediatric patient enrollment for the group. She is an investigator on NIEHS protocols as well as collaborative protocols across NIH institutes. Her clinical work focuses on pediatric patients with autoimmune disorders, particularly those with muscle disorders. 

Kim also serves as faculty in the NIAMS Rheumatology Fellowship Program and as an attending physician on the pediatric rheumatology consult service. She participates in several NIH intramural committees, including the Institutional Review Board for clinical research ethics review. In addition, she holds leadership roles in national and international consortia focused on basic and clinical studies of the idiopathic inflammatory myopathies. 

She is actively involved in professional organizations including the Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance, or CARRA, and the International Myositis Assessment and Clinical Studies Group. Her honors include the American College of Rheumatology Distinguished Fellow Award, the Rheumatology Research Foundation Pediatric Research Award, and the CARRA Early Investigator Award.

Major Areas of Research

• Identifying genetic and environmental risk factors for autoimmune disease risk and disease phenotype, particularly in the idiopathic inflammatory myopathies.
• Understanding immune mechanisms involved in the development of autoimmune diseases, especially myositis.
• Developing improved disease assessments, biomarkers, and novel therapeutic approaches for the idiopathic inflammatory myopathies. 

Current Projects: 

• Adult and Juvenile Myositis – This study evaluates adults and children with myositis to better understand disease causes, immune system changes, and associated medical complications. The study investigates genetic and environmental risk factors involved in myositis development and aims to develop new tools and biomarkers to improve disease assessment and support the evaluation of emerging therapies. 

Kim received her M.D. from the University of California, Irvine. She completed her residency at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., followed by fellowship training in pediatric rheumatology at Children’s National Medical Center, A.I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware, and the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. 

Kim’s research has focused on translational medicine to understand mechanisms of disease particularly in myositis and novel autoimmune muscle diseases therapies based on disease mechanisms. She has authored and co-authored peer-reviewed research articles, reviews, and book chapters. 

Her leadership roles have included serving as chair of the American College of Rheumatology Early Investigator Subcommittee and serving in leadership for the CARRA Juvenile Dermatomyositis Therapeutics Working Group.

Relevance to NIEHS Mission

Kim's work helps identify genetic and environmental risk and protective factors for myositis and other autoimmune diseases. Her research aims to define how these factors influence disease development, disease phenotype, and disease severity. 

By identifying environmental contributors to autoimmune disease, this work may reveal new treatment targets and support the development of preventive strategies to reduce disease burden or potentially prevent disease onset.

Selected Publications

1. Neely J, Sabbagh SE, Dvergsten J, Madubata C, Berthier CC, Zheng Z, Goudsmit C, Matossian S, Ferris SP, Fragiadakis GK, Sirota M, Kahlenberg JM, Kim H*, Turnier JL*, CARRA Registry Investigators and CARRA Translational Medicine for Juvenile Myositis Working Group. Discovery of tissue-specific proteomic signatures in juvenile dermatomyositis highlights pathways reflecting persistent disease activity, clinical heterogeneity, and myositis-specific autoantibody subtype. Ann Rheum Dis. 2025 Nov;84(11):1836-1851. doi: 10.1016/j.ard.2025.07.020. Epub 2025 Sep 6. [Abstract]
2. Tarvin SE, Sherman MA, Kim H, Balmuri N, Brown AG, Chow A, Gewanter HL, de Guzman MM, Huber AM, Kim S, Klein-Gitelman MS, Perron MM, Robinson AB, Sabbagh SE, Savani S, Shenoi S, Spitznagle J, Stingl C, Syverson G, Tory H, Spencer C, Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance Juvenile Dermatomyositis Workgroup. Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance Biologic Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drug Consensus Treatment Plans for Refractory Moderately Severe Juvenile Dermatomyositis. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2024 Nov;76(11):1532-1539. doi: 10.1002/acr.25393. Epub 2024 Aug 14. [Abstract]
3. Kim H, Saygin D, Douglas C, Wilkerson J, Erman B, Pistorio A, McGrath JA, Reed AM, Oddis CV, Bracaglia C, van Royen-Kerkhof A, Bica B, Dolezalova P, Ferriani VPL, Flato B, Bernard-Medina AG, Herlin T, Miller FW, Vencovsky J, Ruperto N, Aggarwal R, Rider LG, International Myositis Assessment and Clinical Studies Group (IMACS) and Paediatric Rheumatology INternational Trials Organization (PRINTO). Performance of the 2016 ACR-EULAR myositis response criteria in juvenile dermatomyositis therapeutic trials and consensus profiles. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2023 Nov 2;62(11):3680-3689. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/kead111. [Abstract]
4. Kim H, Dill S, O'Brien M, Vian L, Li X, Manukyan M, Jain M, Adeojo LW, George J, Perez M, Grom AA, Sutter M, Feldman BM, Yao L, Millwood M, Brundidge A, Pichard DC, Cowen EW, Shi Y, Lu S, Tsai WL, Gadina M, Rider LG, Colbert RA. Janus kinase (JAK) inhibition with baricitinib in refractory juvenile dermatomyositis. Ann Rheum Dis. 2021 Mar;80(3):406-408. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2020-218690. Epub 2020 Aug 25. [Abstract]
5. Kim H, Gunter-Rahman F, McGrath JA, Lee E, de Jesus AA, Targoff IN, Huang Y, O'Hanlon TP, Tsai WL, Gadina M, Miller FW, Goldbach-Mansky R, Rider LG. Expression of interferon-regulated genes in juvenile dermatomyositis versus Mendelian autoinflammatory interferonopathies. Arthritis Res Ther. 2020 Apr 6;22(1):69. doi: 10.1186/s13075-020-02160-9. [Abstract]