Today at Brown

Eunhee Kim already majored in mathematical statistics in college, immensely enjoying the logic and simplicity of her chosen field of study.

But then she took some biology classes, and found that those also struck a chord.

Today, she has combined the two and found that the combination works even better for her. She is a biostatistician — her field of study focuses on a blend of statistics and medicine — and plans to pursue her specialty as assistant professor of community health at Brown this fall.

Kim comes to Brown with a freshly minted Ph.D. in biostatistics from the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill. She’s originally from Pusan (also known as Busan City), South Korea’s second-largest city. Her undergraduate degree, a bachelor of science in statistics, with honors, comes from Pusan National University.

Kim, 30, said she has some very positive, early impressions of Brown.

“People seem really nice and open-minded,” she said, “maybe because it is more like a melting pot.”

At Brown, her work will focus on a number of areas. Her research will focus in part on work involving ACRIN, the American College of Radiology Imaging Network. ACRIN is a national cancer research organization that works with researchers at universities and medical facilities around the world (including Brown’s Center for Statistical Sciences), to evaluate medical imaging protocols for cancer patients.

Kim is also interested in studying medical diagnostics and developing statistical methods for epidemiology, the study of how the health of populations can be affected by food, environment, culture, habits or race.

During studies leading up to her Ph.D., Kim analyzed data and wrote reports as part of the massive national Women’s Health Initiative Study from 2007 to 2008, looking specifically at the effect of the changes in mammographic breast density on cancer risks. At the time, she was a statistical analyst with the Biomedical Research Imaging Center at UC–Chapel Hill.

When Kim isn’t teaching or conducting her research, she enjoys spending time with friends and traveling. So far, she has visited more than 20 different U.S. states and intends to explore the whole country. She’s spent time in Ireland, Spain and London. Every year, she also takes a trip to South Korea to visit her family.

She hopes to someday advise other Ph.D. students, develop her field of research, and expand into other areas.