Heakyung Kim

Heakyung Kim, M.D., joined UT Southwestern in May 2022 as Chair of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Her body of research focuses on spasticity management, robotic therapy, and exercise for weak muscles in children with cerebral palsy. Dr. Kim also is studying quality of life for adults with cerebral palsy. An expert in single-event multilevel chemo neurolysis with botulinum toxin and phenol or alcohol, she led the development of the Spasticity Management Program at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia that decreased orthopedic surgery by 70% for children with cerebral palsy. Dr. Kim established a multidisciplinary drooling management program with botulinum toxin injections to the salivary gland, which prevented repeat pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admissions of children with frequent aspiration pneumonia and decreased PICU length of stay. She also led an interdisciplinary team that built a life span-care model for individuals with cerebral palsy. Dr. Kim earned her M.D. from Ewha Womans University College of Medicine in Seoul, South Korea, and trained in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine of Yonsei University College of Medicine in Seoul. After completing her combined pediatric and PM&R residency at Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences in New Jersey, she joined the faculty at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, serving as Medical Director of the Cerebral Palsy Clinic and Section of Rehabilitation Medicine. Before joining UT Southwestern, Dr. Kim was at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, where she served as Vice Chair of the Department of Rehabilitation and Regenerative Medicine, Director of Pediatric Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Fellowship Program Director of Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine, and Associate Director of Weinberg Family Cerebral Palsy Center.