Sage J. Kim
Sage J. Kim
Primary Affiliation: Co-Lead, Equity, Justice, and Human Flourishing Working Group; COVID-19 Task Force
School of Public Health | University of Illinois Chicago
Skill Highlights
Research on Incarceration
Studies Hyper-Surveillance
Observes Neighborhood Effects and GIS Population Health
Measures Health Equity
Policy Expertise
Milestones
EXPERIENCE &
BACKGROUND
ABOUT
Dr. Kim has extensive experience examining racial disparities in health, particularly in relation to neighborhood context. More broadly, Dr. Kim has been exploring structural social factors affecting health. For example, she was the principal investigator on a National Institute on Aging funded R21 that examined social networks, social capital, and treatment adherence among older adults with HIV who have a history of incarceration. Similarly, Dr. Kim was a Co-I on a NIDA funded R01 research to design, implement, and examine the effectiveness of jail-based opt-out HIV testing, and subsequent continuity of care in and out of a large urban jail. Dr. Kim was PI on an NIMHD funded supplemental grant, examining spatial clusters of environmental hazards in Chicago by neighborhood level racial composition, social capital, and political participation. In addition, she was a Co-I on NIMHD funded grants including the Center of Excellence in Eliminating Disparities (CEED) which focused on patient navigation and mammograms in Chicago.
Dr. Kim is currently exploring the effects of violence exposure contributing to inflammatory responses that are linked to lung cancer with an NIMHD funded R01. Furthermore, she is a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Interdisciplinary Research Leaders (IRL) fellow, examining the effects of hyper-surveillance on minority communities. Dr. Kim is also a Co-I on a grant funded by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, which aims to estimate risk exposure and high blood lead level among children in Illinois. Dr. Kim’s research primarily focuses on equity and health. Currently, she leads the Investigator Development Core (IDC) of an NIMHD funded Center for Health Equity Research (CHER). She has mentored multiple early-stage investigators (ESIs) through CHER. Additionally, she has strong experience working with large data. Currently, Dr. Kim is a Co-Director of the Population Health Analytics, Metrics and Evaluation Center that aims to democratize data. She has an excellent track record of mentorship and working with transdisciplinary research teams on multiple projects that address neighborhood context and health disparity.
School of Public Health, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL.
Associate Professor at the Division of Health Policy and Administration, 2014 to Present.
Engagement
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF): This study examines the effects of hyper-surveillance on justice involved individuals and families.
Cancer Prevention & Control
The Cancer Prevention & Control Pilot Program examined the relationship between neighborhood violence exposure and lung cancer in Chicago. Pilot data generated from this project support a social epigenetic mechanism for racial disparity in lung cancer.
Place Matters Research
P60 supplement (National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities and Environmental Protection Agency funded): This supplement grant was part of P60 (Center of Excellence in Eliminating Disparities). This project examined the spatial distribution of environmental hazards and cancer risk by neighborhood race and class.
Racial Disparities in Lung Cancer
R01 (NIMHD funded). This study examines the social epigenetic mechanism of racial disparities in lung cancer, by examining the effect of exposure to neighborhood violence on immune responses and PRMT6 expression leading to lung cancer.
Vaccine Confidence
Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC). This PRC COVID Supplement evaluates multi-level outreach interventions to increase vaccine confidence in communities that have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19.
Neighborhood Context
SPH seed funding: This pilot project generated preliminary data to establish a theoretical and analytic framework for intergenerational effects of residential context on chronic diseases; and estimate racial/ethnic variance in duration, strength, and direction of the effects of intergenerational neighborhood context.
Increasing Social Capital
IPCE research project: This study explored ways in which community-based organizations, particularly, those serving poor and predominantly black communities, contribute to neighborhood social capital by engaging, linking, and bridging community members and external resources to improve access to care, such as establishing Federally Qualified Health Centers.
HIV Research
R21 (National Institute on Aging): This grant examined how older adults with HIV navigate healthcare systems and achieve treatment adherence after their release from jail/prison, despite their triple jeopardy due to aging, HIV, and incarceration.
Incarceration Research
K99/R00 award (National Institute on Drug Abuse funded): This K award project explored the impact of incarceration on drug use, STI/HIV, and recidivism among women in a large urban jail.
Recent Publications
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HONORS & AWARDS
