NutriNews Issue 7 2017 NutriNews Issue 7 2017 | Page 33

Dr. Young-In Kim By: Anne Fard 5.If you were starting over again, is there anything you would do differently? For sure. I would do something completely differently. I always wanted to be a writer, journalist or opera singer. 6.In this issue of NutriNews, we focus on 'redefining' Nutrition and highlighting its many facets. How would you define 'Nutrition’? I’ve actually never thought about this. “Substances in food and supplement that are essential in maintenance of health?” 7.If you had one thing to change in today's process of research, what would it be? 1.I understand that you got your MD at the University of Toronto, and post-doctoral fellowships at Tufts University and Harvard Medical School. Briefly, please share what was your greatest learning from each experience. U of T medical school and subsequent specialist and sub-specialist training provided me the best medical education you can get in North America. Similarly, my research fellowship at Tufts was a fantastic experience as this was the best all-around clinical nutrition and research training in North America. Research fellowship in cell biology at Harvard Medical School was overwhelming as I was surrounded by incredibly bright and motivated top notch scientists from all over the world. 2.What do you enjoy most about being a clinician-scientist, and what areas do you dislike more? I enjoy being able to bring bench to bedside and vice versa on a daily basis as a clinician-scientist. The part that I do not enjoy as much as I get older is writing grant applications. 3.One of the perks of being a scientist is travelling to different countries to attend conferences and workshops. If you were to take your team to a conference anywhere in the world, where would you go? Australia. I had one of the best conference/vacation experience in Australia before. 4.Looking back at your career, what has been one of your biggest challenges that has impacted your life and how did you overcome it? Juggling family and career was probably the most difficult challenge. However, I have been putting my family on top of the priority list. Everything else can wait. More abundant funding so that scientists do not have to waste so much time writing one grant application after another. Funding agencies should also support “high-risk high-gain” type of research instead of supporting stagnant and incremental research. 8.Do you have any advice to the graduate students in this department? Our lab members would all say "short-term sacrifice for long-term gain", would you like to add to that? I say the same to my kids too. “Short-term sacrifice for long-term gain”. I think the younger generations do not have as much as patience and perseverance as the older generations have and they want immediate gratification with minimal sacrifice. What you get in life is what you have invested time and energy in. I also feel that the younger generation lacks appreciation for literature, art, and classical music. We are not producing all-around persons anymore. So my advice is to read good books, go to art galleries and attend concerts while doing graduate studies in Toronto. There are so many opportunities in Toronto. 9. What are words you live by? “First do no harm” in my medical practice. “Do your best and give everything you’ve got." 10.Were there any mentors who guided you or you looked up to? What advice did they give you? I am always grateful to Dr. Khursheed Jeejeebhoy who was my teacher and mentor during my internal medicine and gastroenterology training in Toronto. He was an excellent scientist and superb clinician. He guided me to my clinician-scientist career path. I always remember his advice: to become a successful clinician-scientist, you have to be a credible clinician. We are a clinician first and a scientist second. Often clinician-scientists forget why they went to medical school. Issue 3 | Nutrition of Everything | 27