Shin-je Ghim, Ph.D.

Education:Shin-je Ghim, Ph.D.

B.A., Korea University, South Korea, Food Technology; 1976-80
M.A., Ajou University, South Korea, Chemical Engineering; 1981-1983
DEA, Lyon I University, France, Microbiology; 1984-1985
PhD, Lyon I University, France, Microbiology; 1985-1989

Curriculum Vitae

Current Positions:

Associate Professor Gratis, UofL
Member, Care & Control Program, James Graham Brown Cancer Center

Contact Information:

Clinical Translational Research Building, Room 216
University of Louisville
505 South Hancock St.
Louisville, KY 40202, USA
Phone 502-852-3767
Fax 502-852-7979
Email:

Research Description:

My main focus in research has been the prevention and treatment of papillomavirus infections. Dr. Alfred Bennett Jenson, Dr. Richard Schlegel and I are co-inventors of the human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV vaccine), best known as the cervical cancer vaccine (Gardasil and Cervarix). We provided the basic science for the HPV vaccine, and conducted the animal study using a canine animal model we developed at Georgetown University (Washington, DC) in the early 1990s. Papillomaviruses, such as human papillomavirus type (HPV) 16 and 18, are oncogenic, and cause 5 to 10% of all cancers including all cervical cancers. We have studied the relationship between HPVs and head and neck/lung cancers. In addition, we isolated multiple animal PVs, including PVs from sea mammals and endangered species, and established two mouse models, one with transgenic mouse and the other with natural infection by mouse papillomavirus. The latter is the only genuine mouse model known to date in which to study the mechanism of the progression by viral oncoproteins and to test the treatments specific to papillomavirus. Recently, we have been developing a parvovirus B19 vaccine at JGBCC, University of Louisville.  Parvovirus B19 (B19V) causes hydrops fetalis and fetal death during the pregnancy, aplastic crisis in patients with sickle cell anemia, spherocytosis, Thalassemia and acquired anemia, and arthritis and other diseases in patients with immunodepression. B19V infection can be deadly among bone marrow transplant patients, especially those with myeloma. Our B19V vaccine is based on mutated hemagglutination negative virus-like particles (VLPs). We demonstrated that our vaccine candidate is antigenically identical to the unmutated prototype VLPs, that it is not immunogenic in mice and humans, and highly immunogenic in mice and macaques.

Literature Cited:

  1. Ghim SJ, Christensen ND, Kreider JW, Jenson AB.  Comparison of neutralization of BPV-1 infection of C127 cells and bovine fetal skin xenografts.  International Journal of Cancer 1991 Sep 9;49(2):285-9. PMIC: 1715330.
  2. Ghim SJ, Jenson AB, Schlegel R.  HPV1 L1 protein expressed in COS cells displays conformational epitopes found previously only on intact virions.  Virology 1992 Sep;190(1):548-52. PMID: 1382345.
  3. Ghim SJ, Jenson AB.  Identification of conformational epitopes of the BPV-1 capsid recognized by competitive inhibition of sera from infected or immunized animals. Pathobiology 1993;61(3-4):138-44. PMID: 8216835.
  4. Bell JA, Sundberg JP, Ghim SJ, Newsome J, Jenson AB, Schlegel R.  A formalin-inactivated vaccine protects against mucosal papillomavirus infection: A canine model.  Pathobiology 1994;62(4):194-8. PMID: 7734063.
  5. Hines JF, Ghim SJ, Christensen ND, Kreider JW, Barnes WD, Schlegel R, Jenson AB.  The expressed L1 proteins of HPV-1, HPV-6 and HPV-11 display type-specific epitopes with native conformation and reactivity with neutralizing and non-neutralizing antibodies.  Pathobiology 1994;62(4):165-71. PMIC: 7537506.
  6. *Suzich JA, *Ghim SJ, Palmer-Hill FJ, White WI, Tamura JK, Bell JA, Newsome JA, Newsome AB, Jenson AB, and Schlegel R.  Systemic immunization with papillomavirus L1 protein completely prevents the development of viral mucosal papillomas.  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 1995 Dec 5;92(25):11553-7. PMID: 8524802. PMCID: PMC40440. (*: co-1st authors).
  7. Ghim SJ, Young R, Jenson AB.  Antigenicity of bovine papillomavirus type 1 (BPV-1) L1 virus-like particles (VLPs) compared with that of intact virions.  Journal of General Virology 1996 Feb;77(Pt 2):183-8. PMID: 8627221.
  8. Ghim SJ, Newsome J, Bell J, Sundberg JP, Schlegel R, Jenson AB.  Spontaneously regressing oral papillomas induce systemic antibodies that neutralize canine oral papillomavirus.  Experimental & Molecular Pathology 2000 Jun;68(3):147-51. PMID: 10816383.
  9. Ghim SJ, Delius H, Rector A, Sundburg JP, Jenson AB, van Ranst M.  Equine papillomavirus type 1: complete nucleotide sequence and characterization of recombinant virus-like particles composed of the EcPV-1 L1 major capsid protein.  Biochemical & Biophysical Research Communications 2004 Nov 14;324(3):1108-15. PMID: 15485669.
  10. Van Dooerslaer K, Rector A, Jenson AB, Sundbeg JP, van Ranst M, Ghim SJ.  Complete genomic characterization murine papillomavirus isolated from papillomatous lesions from European harvest mice (Micromys minutus, MmPV).  Journal of General Virology 2007 May;88(Pt 5):1484-8. PMID: 17412977.
  11. Ghim S, Jenson AB, Bubier JA, Silva KA, Smith RS, Sundberg JP.  Cataracts in transgenic mice caused by a human papillomavirus type 18E7 oncogen driven by KRT1-14.  Experimental & Molecular Pathology 2008 Oct;85(2):77-82. PMID: 18723014. PMCID: 2650106.
  12. Rehtanz M, Bossart GD, Doescher B, Rector A, Van Ranst M, Fair PA, Jenson AB, Ghim SJ.  Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncates) papillomaviruses: vaccine antigen candidates and screening test development.  Veterinary Microbiology 2009 Jan 1;133(1-2):43-53. PMID: 18676105.
  13. Joh J, Hopper K, Van Doorslaer K, Sundberg JP, Jenson AB, Ghim SJ.  Macaca fascicularis papillomavirus type 1: a non-human primate betapapillomavirus causing rapidly progressive hand and foot papillomatosis.  Journal of General Virology 2009 Apr;90(Pt 4):987-94. PMID: 29364664.
  14. Joh J, Jenson AB, Moore GD, Rezazedeh A, Slone SP, Ghim SJ, Kloecker GH.  Human papillomavirus (HPV) and Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCpyV) in non-small cell lung cancer. Experimental & Molecular Pathology 2010 Dec;89(3):222-6. PMID: 20699096.
  15. Joh J, Jenson AB, King WW, Proctor ML, Ingle A, Sundberg JP, Ghim SJ.  Genomic analysis of the first laboratory mouse papillomavirus (MusPV).  Journal of General Virology 2010 Mar;92(Pt 3):692-8. PMID: 21084500.
  16. Donà MG, Rehtanz M, Adimey NM, Bossart GD, Jenson AB, Bonde RK, Ghim SJ.  Seroepidemiology of TmPV1 infection in captive and wild Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris).  Journal of Wildlife Diseases 2011 Jul;47(3):673-84. PMID: 21719832. 
  17. Joh J, Proctor M, Ditslear J, King WW, Sundberg JP, Jenson AB,and Ghim SJ.  Epidemiological and phylogenetic analysis of institutional mouse parvoviruses.  Experimental & Molecular Pathology 2013 Aug;95(1):32-7.  PMID: 23545399.
  18. Sundberg JP, Stearns TM, Joh J, Proctor M, Ingle A, Silva KA, Dadras SS, Jenson AB, Ghim SJ.  Immune status, strain background, and anatomic site of inoculation affect mouse papillomavirus (MmuPV1) induction of exophytic papillomas or endophytic trichoblastomas.  PLoS One 2014 Dec 4;9(12):e113582. PMID: 25474466. PMCID: PMC4256377.
  19. Zahin M, Joh J, Khanal S, Husk A, Mason H, Warzecha H, Ghim SJ, Miller DM, Matoba N, Jenson AB.  Scalable production of HPV16 L1 protein and VLPs from tobacco leaves.  PLoS One 2016 Aug 12;11(8):e0160995. PMID: 27518899. PMCID: PMC4982596.
  20. Zahin M, Dean WL, Ghim SJ, Joh J, Gray RD, Khanal S, Bossart GD, Mignucci-Giannoni AA, Rouchka EC, Jenson AB, Trent JO, Chaires JB, Chariker JH.  Identification of G-quadruplex forming sequences in three manatee Papillomaviruses.  PLoS One 2018 Apr 9;13(4):0195625. PMID: 29630682. PMCID: PMC5891072.

Notable Attributes

Member, Intragency/Oceanaria Manatee Working Group, 2000-present.
Board member, Pasteur Institute-Korea, 2007

PubMed Information