[4][5][6][7] In 2016, Kim was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering for leadership in the discovery and development of novel drugs and vaccines used worldwide.

Kim grew up in Ridgewood, New Jersey, the son of a single mother, and his first job was in 1974 at a Roy Rogers restaurant, where he earned money to pay for college.

[13][14][15][16][17] He has a special interest in HIV/AIDS research and designed compounds that stop membrane fusion by HIV, thereby preventing it from infecting cells, and has pioneered efforts to develop an HIV vaccine based on similar principles.

Kim also served as a member of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) AIDS Vaccine Research Committee.

[19] In this role Kim oversaw all of Merck's drug and vaccine research and development activities.