Cameron M Kim
Biomedical Engineering
Associate Director of Undergraduate Studies, Assistant Professor of the Practice in the Department of BME

Research Interests
Education advances in biomolecular/cellular engineering, mathematical modeling of biological systems, biotechnology design, and integrating ethics in BME curriculum. Expanding authentic research experiences in undergraduate education.
Bio
Cameron Kim is an Assistant Professor of the Practice in Biomedical Engineering and the Associate Director of Undergraduate Studies at Duke University, Associate Faculty in the Duke Science & Society Initiative, and a member of the Duke Center for Advanced Genomic Technologies. He holds a Ph.D. in Bioengineering from Stanford University, where his research centered on engineering protein and RNA-based control systems for mammalian synthetic biology. His current work bridges biotechnology education with ethical responsibility, focusing on equipping future engineers with the tools to address ethical challenges in emerging technologies like gene and cell-based therapies. His scholarship of engineering formation, characterized by curiosity and intellectual humility, informs his approach to pedagogy and mentorship. He also actively contributes to the ethical discourse surrounding engineering biology through his involvement in various ELSI committees, including those within the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the Engineering Biology Research Consortium.
Education
- B.S.E. Duke University, 2014
- M.S. Stanford University, 2016
- Ph.D. Stanford University, 2020
Positions
- Assistant Professor of the Practice in the Department of Biomedical Engineering
- Associate of the Duke Initiative for Science & Society
Awards, Honors, and Distinctions
- Biomedical Engineering Teaching Award. ASEE Biomedical Engineering Division. 2025
- KEEN Campus Rising Star Award. Kern Family Foundation. 2024
- Bass Connections Award for Outstanding Leadership. https://bassconnections.duke.edu/bass-connections-leadership-award. 2023
- Klein Family Distinguished Teaching Award. Pratt School of Engineering. 2023
Courses Taught
- SCISOC 290: Topics in Science & Society
- ISS 796T: Bass Connections Information, Society & Culture Research Team
- ISS 795T: Bass Connections Information, Society & Culture Research Team
- ISS 396T: Bass Connections Information, Society & Culture Research Team
- ISS 395T: Bass Connections Information, Society & Culture Research Team
- ETHICS 290: Special Topics in Ethics
- BME 790: Advanced Topics for Graduate Students in Biomedical Engineering
- BME 706L: Biotech Design II
- BME 705L: Biotech Design I
- BME 590: Special Topics in Biomedical Engineering
- BME 494: Projects in Biomedical Engineering (GE)
- BME 493: Projects in Biomedical Engineering (GE)
- BME 406L: Biotech Design II
- BME 405L: Biotech Design I (GE, MC)
- BME 394: Projects in Biomedical Engineering (GE)
- BME 390L: Special Topics with a Lab
- BME 290L: Intermediate Topics with Lab (GE)
- BME 290: Intermediate Topics (GE)
- BME 260L: Modeling Cellular and Molecular Systems
Publications
- Bucholz EK, Kim C, Chan JR, Ferney C. The Snail Progression of Ethical Instruction: Nurturing Ethical Mindsets Across the Biomedical Engineering Curriculum. In: ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition Conference Proceedings. 2024.
- Kim CM, Wallace C, Gatongi MW. Board 28: Work-in-progress: Transforming the Molecular and Cellular Engineering Educational Experience in Biomedical Engineering. In: ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition Conference Proceedings. 2023.
- Chan JR, Bucholz EK, Kim CM. Board 19: Work in Progress: Integrating Ethics Education across the Biomedical Engineering Curriculum Increases Student Awareness of Frameworks and Broader Applications to Practice. In: ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition Conference Proceedings. 2023.
- Kim CM. Methanol-fuelled yeast synthesizes anticancer drugs. Nature Synthesis. 2023 Mar 1;2(3):202u20134.
- Mathur M, Kim CM, Munro SA, Rudina SS, Sawyer EM, Smolke CD. Programmable mutually exclusive alternative splicing for generating RNA and protein diversity. Nature communications. 2019 Jun;10(1):2673.
- Kim CM, Smolke CD. Biomedical applications of RNA-based devices. Current Opinion in Biomedical Engineering. 2017 Dec 1;4:106u201315.
- Mathur M, Kim C, Munro S, Smolke CP. Programming protein function with synthetic RNA splicing devices. In: Synthetic Biology Conference Seed 2017 Engineering Evolution and Design. 2017. p. 31u20132.
- Kim C. Preparing Ethical Engineers for the Future: Integrating Modern Case Studies and Design Fiction in Biomedical Engineering Ethics. In.
- Kim C. Preparing Ethical Engineers for the Future: Integrating Modern Case Studies and Design Fiction in Biomedical Engineering Ethics. In.
- Kim C. Work-in-Progress: Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications of Emergent Biotechnologies: Distributive justice and dual-use technology in the engineering design cycle curriculum. In.
In The News
- Building Character While Engineering with Character Forward Initiative (May 6, 2025 | Pratt School of Engineering)
- Building Ethics into Engineering (Sep 24, 2024 | Pratt Blueprint)