Dr. Kim Tieu is Professor and Interim Chair in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences in the Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work at Florida International University. Kim’s research focuses on three related areas. The first is understanding why people develop Parkinson’s disease (PD). The genetic or environmental causes of PD are unknown in about 90% of cases. Kim is studying the effects of environmental toxins on the development and progression of PD. The second major area of research in Kim’s lab examines why and how the dopamine-producing neurons die in a part of the brain called the basal ganglia in people with PD. A third research line in Kim’s lab aims to develop an effective drug therapy for PD. Kim loves going to the beach to swim, snorkel, and fish with his family. He also enjoys travel, photography, yard work, and tending to his approximately 30 fruit trees. He received his bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from the University of Saskatchewan and subsequently worked as a pharmacist for several years. Kim then returned to the University of Saskatchewan to complete his Ph.D. in neuroscience. Afterwards, he conducted postdoctoral research at Columbia University. Kim accepted his first faculty position at the University of Rochester Medical Center, and he served on the faculty at Plymouth University in England prior to joining the faculty at Florida International University. In our interview, Kim shares more about his life and science.
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