Kyungmin Ji, PhD

Biographical statement

Dr. Ji is an assistant scientist in the Henry Ford Department of Neurology. Her research program focuses on defining how tumor–microenvironment interactions regulate growth, signaling adaptation and therapeutic resistance in neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1)-associated tumors. She has established an independent translational research program centered on advanced 3D/4D (real-time 3D) culture systems and patented microfluidic platforms to model clinically relevant tumor–stromal interactions. Supported by a Department of Defense (DoD) NF1 New Investigator Award, she successfully built and sustained a productive NF1 research program at Henry Ford, generating peer-reviewed publications as corresponding author in Cancers (2024) and Cells (2025), along with preprints (BioRxiv), and establishing mechanistic evidence that fibroblast-derived signaling contributes to therapeutic resistance in plexiform neurofibromas (pNF1s).

In parallel, Dr. Ji has established a strong multidisciplinary NF research network that integrates clinical, bioengineering and preclinical modeling expertise. These collaborations extend the translational scope of her program from mechanistic in vitro modeling to organoid and in vivo systems. She also actively participates in monthly NF clinical-scientific meetings and the annual NF patient symposium and maintains engagement with the Gilbert Family Foundation (GFF) for scientific feedback and community-informed research direction.

Since completion of the DoD award in July 2025, she has maintained an active and competitive funding pipeline, submitting multiple external proposals over the past year, including applications to the Neurofibromatosis Therapeutic Acceleration Program (NTAP) at Johns Hopkins, the CDMRP Rare Cancers Research Program and the Children's Tumor Foundation Drug Discovery Initiative.

Dr. Ji's goal is to convert the strong preliminary data generated under prior funding into sustained external grant support that further strengthens the team's NF1 and translational oncology research portfolio.

Research Interests

• Neurofibromatosis
• Tumor microenvironment
• Drug resistance
• Triple-negative breast cancer and lymphatic metastasis
• 3D cell culture
• 3D Live-cell imaging and 3D quantitative analysis
• Microfluidic culture chips

Email: kji1@hfhs.org