
ABOUT ME
I am a Health Economist who focuses on connecting efficiency and equity in research, trying to address limited resources and health inequity altogether. I am currently an Assistant Professor (Tenure-track) in Health Economics at The University of Texas Health Science Center School of Public Health. I work on various population health studies and economic evaluations, using large-scale data, temporal-spatial statistics, and mathematical decision modeling.
"Inclusive Health Improvement"
My research interests are HPV-associated cancers and prevention in underserved populations; HPV-associated cancers among immuno-compromised patients; LGBTQIA+ health; healthcare access disparity in cancer survivors; health inequity; and socio-ecological determinants of health. I am especially interested in using inequality index measures and distributional cost-effectiveness analysis for addressing health inequities.
My background before coming to the Public Health field is in Economics (Master's) and Business Administration (Bachelor). I also was involved in Medical Law & Ethics research during and after my undergrad. I have a solid background in Economic theories I obtained over my Business and Economics majors, and I could build more applied Health Economics skills upon that during my PhD training. I am an (interdisciplinary) social scientist.
I am an avid weight-trainer, and I love planting and K-pop. I also host virtual writing retreats and support academic writings in a global organization ("Advancing Gender/Ethnic/Class Minorities in Academia"), where I discuss/learn how to create more inclusion, equity, and diversity and interact with fellow academics all around the world. I am a Seoul (Korea) native. I use They/She pronouns.




EDUCATION
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Economic Evaluation/ Medical Decision Models
Using agent-based models, microsimulation, etc.
2018 - 2020
University of Texas Health Science Center
PhD in Health Economics
HPV-Associated Cancers
Anal, cervical, oropharyngeal, vulvar, vaginal, penile cancers
LGBTQIA+ Health
Healthcare access, cancer prevention
2016 - 2018
University of Florida
PhD program in Health Services, Management and Policy - Transferred due to advisor's transfer
2013 - 2016
University of Utah
MS in Economics
2000 - 2006
Korea University (Seoul, Korea)
Bachelor in Business Administration
(with Pre-Law curriculum)
Social Determinants of Health (SDoH)
Health disparities, socioeconomic status (SES), area-level social vulnerability, inequality index
Population-Level Data Analysis
Using population-level administrative, registry, survey databases.