Minkyo Song, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Minkyo Song's research focuses on how variation in immunity affects the aging progress and age-related outcomes in general and immune-altered populations. Despite the growing burden of autoimmune diseases and the importance of understanding their pathophysiology, studies of autoimmune diseases and aging are scarce. Dr. Song's unit is dedicated to filling these gaps by investigating the patterns and variations of autoimmune diseases, addressing underdiagnosis, utilizing lifespan and longitudinal epidemiologic designs, and incorporating emerging risk factors such as new drugs, infections, and air pollution. Her research program leverages the recent and rapidly evolving tools of immunology and related technologies, particularly high-throughput proteomics and bioinformatics tools, to investigate the interaction of autoimmune diseases and aging and identify robust autoimmune disease biomarkers, integrating these into epidemiologic studies.

Dr. Song earned her medical degree after graduating from Seoul National University College of Medicine in Korea. She was board-certified in Preventive Medicine upon completion of her residency and earned M.S. and Ph.D. in epidemiology at the same institute. Dr. Song was a postdoctoral fellow and later a research fellow at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), U.S., and transitioned to a Tenure Track Investigator at the National Institute on Aging.

Dr. Song has received numerous awards for her work, including the NIH and NCI Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics (DCEG) Fellows Award for Research Excellence, the NCI Director's Intramural Innovation Award, and the DCEG Outstanding Mentor Award.