Alumni Scholars

Tae Yeon Kim completed a BA in Anthropology in 2013 at the University of Chicago, where she graduated with Honors and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Before medical school, she worked as a Research Assistant at the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics at the University of Chicago. As a medical student, under the mentorship of Dr. Anna Volerman, Tae Yeon has conducted research to identify factors associated with the carry and use of inhalers by children with asthma in schools. Tae Yeon is on the board as the Interpreter Coordinator for Bridgeport Free Clinic, which serves a predominantly Cantonese speaking immigrant population. She also co-leads Big Ideas in Medicine, Reach Out and Read, and Pritzker Community Service Fellowship. She has served as a Peer Educator for the Health Care Disparities course and is a member of the Identity and Inclusion Steering Committee at the medical school.

Dr. Kim completed her residency at the University of Chicago Medicine and is currently a Pediatric Hospitalist for NorthShore Medical Group in Evanston, IL.

Karen Kim is the Sara and Harold Lincoln Thompson Professor of Medicine, Associate Director of the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Director of the Center for Asian Health Equity.

As Vice Provost for Research, Kim works with faculty and deans to support and enhance research funding and manage large-scale research infrastructure such as University Research Administration (URA) and the University of Chicago Consortium for Advanced Science and Engineering (CASE), the Office of Research Safety, Research Computing Center, and Research Development Support.

Dr. Kim previously served as Dean for Faculty Affairs for the Division of the Biological Sciences and is the Associate Director of the University of Chicago Comprehensive Cancer Center. She is the founder and director of the University of Chicago Center for Asian Health Equity, the only research center dedicated to the study of Asian health disparities in the Midwest, and a national leader on policies for inclusion of Asian-Americans in research.

With extensive expertise in community-based participatory research (CBPR), dissemination and implementation science, intervention and minority health research, Kim has focused on the rigorous development and evaluation of multi-level strategies to advance health equity supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Cancer Institute Beau Biden Cancer Moonshot Initiative, and the Department of Health and Human Service’s Office of Minority Health and the National Institutes of Health. Kim’s research has a specific focus on the content domain of colorectal cancer prevention and on the methodological domain of implementation science. Recently, Kim’s research has focused on developing innovative technology-based solutions to address gaps in health care services among federally qualified community health centers.

In addition to her research, Kim is deeply committed to civic engagement and has dedicated significant time to advancing health through service to numerous nonprofit organizations and national boards. Kim has been nationally recognized for her advocacy and policy work and received the International Women’s Leadership Award, the Chicago Foundation for Women Impact Award and the Cancer Prevention Laurel for Increasing Health Equity.

She is a member of the American College of Physicians, American Gastroenterological Association, and the American Medical Association, American Association for Cancer Research and the American Public Health Association. As of 2023, Dr. Kim is the Dean of Penn State College of Medicine.

Kathryn Kinasz graduated magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame in 2010 with a B.A. in English and Psychology and election to the Phi Beta Kappa Society. Following graduation, Kate spent two years working at a strategy consulting firm in Chicago and a year completing her post-baccalaureate pre-medical education at Bryn Mawr College.

Under the mentorship of Daniel Le Grange and with a Medical Student Fellowship from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Kate has conducted research on the differences between boys and girls who present for eating disorder treatment. As a 2014 Schweitzer Fellow, Kate is working with the Girls in the Game organization to teach young girls in urban settings health and leadership lessons through participation in sports.

Kate also serves as the co-director of the Washington Park Pediatric Clinic, the co-curriculum director for the Adolescent Substance Abuse Prevention program, and the co-director of the Pediatrics Interest Group. Kate recently returned from a medical service trip to Peru with the REMEDY student group.

Dr. Kinasz is a Psychiatry Resident at University of California, San Francisco in San Francisco, CA.

Dr. Kiragu is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Section of General Internal Medicine. He received his medical training at Northwestern University and was a medicine resident and chief resident at The University of Chicago at NorthShore. He provides comprehensive primary care to adults and is passionate about preventive health. He currently sits on the committee of the Kidney Transplant Program and provides both evaluation and care for the transplant candidates. He is also interested in systems improvements by identifying factors predictive of poor outcomes among kidney transplant patients. Dr. Kiragu is also involved in training medicine residents and medical students.

In 2015, Dr. Kiragu joined Wilson Medical Group in Wilson, NC.

Dr. Kirschner is a Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Program at The University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital.

She has a longstanding interest in contributing to understanding the pathogenesis of IBD and improving care for children and adolescents with IBD. In this regard, she helped establish the PediIBD Research Consortium and has continued to collaborate with centers and consortia nationally to enhance knowledge relating to the genetics, microbiome and natural history of pediatric IBD. In addition, she is the site principal investigator for several clinical drug trials designed to determine the efficacy, safety and dosing of new therapeutic modalities for this patient population. She, along with colleagues within the Pediatric GI Section, have established one of the largest practices of children and adolescents with IBD and is considered to be an expert in the care of this population.

Dr. Kirschner has published over 130 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters in her field and has lectured nationally and internationally in topics related to pediatric IBD.

In addition to the clinical and research activities described above, Dr. Kirschner greatly enjoys teaching medical students, house staff, fellows and faculty and has been selected to receive an annual Teaching Award from the Pediatric Residents.

Dr. Klafta is a Professor of Anesthesia & Critical Care and the Vice Chair for Education & Academic Affairs. Dr. Klafta graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Physics from Loyola University in Chicago and received his MD degree from the Pritzker School of Medicine in 1989. He completed his anesthesiology residency at Harvard’s Brigham & Women’s Hospital before joining the University of Chicago faculty in 1993.

Dr. Klafta served as the Director of the Anesthesiology Residency Program from 1997-2006, and was the Clerkship Director for Perioperative Medicine and Pain Therapy from 1997–2002. In recognition of his outstanding teaching skills, he received the Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care Teacher of the Year Award in 1994, ’98, ’03, and ’04, and was elected into the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society in 2000. Two years later he received the International Anesthesia Research Society’s Annual Teaching Recognition Award.

2013 Pilot Grant Project: Improving Professionalism for Physicians in Training: A Curriculum based Approach.

Dr. Christopher Kramer is an Assistant Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery in the Section of Neurocritical Care. He received his medical degree from the Chicago Medical School. He then went on to pursue his Neurology residency training at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona followed by his Neurocritical Care fellowship at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota before joining the faculty at the University of Chicago in 2015.

Dr. Kramer has a passion for medical education and serves as the Neurocritical Care Fellowship Program Director and as a member of the Neurology Resident Education Committee and the Clinical Competency Committee. He is currently enrolled in the Medical Education Research, Innovation, Teaching and Scholarship (MERITS) program at the University of Chicago. Nationally, he was involved in the creation of the Essentials of Neurocritical Care, an educational endeavor for providers through the Neurocritical Care Society. He is a faculty advisor to neurology residents, is developing a simulation-based curriculum for learners of various levels and backgrounds on neurological emergencies.

His research interests include the impact of communication on providers and families in the neurocritical care unit, novel treatments for acute ischemic stroke, penetrating traumatic brain injury, prognostication after cardiac arrest, and brain death. In 2025, Dr. Kramer practices at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL.

Dr. Susan Ksiazek is a comprehensive ophthalmologist who interests are broad-based. A graduate of Rush Medical College in Chicago, she completed first a neurology residency at the University of Michigan, followed by a neuro-ophthalmology fellowship at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia. She then went onto her ophthalmology residency at Montefiore Medical Center in New York. She is currently board certified in Neurology as well as Ophthalmology. She has experience with a running the Veteran’s Eye Clinic in Indianapolis before coming to Chicago. She continues seeing patients with a wide variety of problems including cataracts, glaucoma, eyelid problems, as well as neuro-ophthalmic disease. Her interests include education and in particular surgical education, specifically wetlab curriculum development. She is a devote educator and care giver. She won an award, Make a Difference in delivery of surgical care in 2015.

Dr. Vinay Kumar is the Alice Hogge and Arthur Baer Distinguished Service Professor and former Chairman of the department of Pathology at the University of Chicago. He has made seminal contributions in the field of medical education and basic research. In 1974 his laboratory identified Natural Killer (NK) cells as a distinct population of lymphocytes with anti-tumor activities. Continuation of this work has led to discovery of NK cell receptors and the immunotherapeutic use of NK cells. He was elected to the American Association Advancement of Science for this “pioneering work on discovery of NK cells”. He is a passionate medical educator and has influenced medical education across the world for the past 35 years as the editor/author of Robbins Pathology text books. He is the senior editor of these books now in their 9th edition. Robbins Pathology is the most widely used medical text in the world with translations into 13 languages. He has served on the US National Board of medical Examiners as test writer and he recently coauthored a report on competency based education commissioned by AAMC/HHMI. He has played an active role in curricular reforms globally with special interest in his native India. He believes that technology can be a powerful democratizing force in medical education and is developing innovative ways to use technology for educating health science professionals. In 2025, Dr. Kumar joined the staff at Advocate Christ Health in Oak Lawn, IL.

Sunny Kung graduated with Highest Honors from the University of California, Berkeley in 2013 with a B.S. in Bioengineering. As a medical student, she co-lead South Side Science Scholars and Big Ideas in Medicine. Sunny is a co-founder of the Bridgeport Free Clinic and a Huggins Society Ambassador. She also serves the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) as the Central Regional Delegate to the National Committee on Community & Diversity, as well as the Pritzker representative to the Organization of Student Representatives. Under the mentorship of Jonas de Souza, Sunny completed a research project titled “Cost-coping Strategies in Locally Advanced Head and Neck Cancer.”

Dr. Kung is an Internal Medicine Resident at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA.