Karen Kim, MD, MS, was named dean at the Penn State College of Medicine in 2023. As the Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Chair in Rural Health Research, Kim leads the College of Medicine’s education, research, and clinical missions, the culture of innovation, and will focus on enhancing team-based interdisciplinary collaboration across the College of Medicine, Penn State Health, the University at large and across commonwealth campuses. As Physician in Chief, Kim plays a critical role in shaping the academic health system.

In addition to being dean, Kim is a nationally recognized leader in health disparities research, curricular innovation, and public policy. Her research focuses on the rigorous development and evaluation of multi-level strategies to advance cancer health equity among marginalized and vulnerable populations. As founder and director of the Center for Asian Health Equity community-academic partnership, Kim is a national leader in public policies for the inclusion of Asian Americans and underserved populations in research.

Prior to joining Penn State, Kim served as the Vice Provost for Research and Senior Research Officer at the University of Chicago, the Sara and Harold Lincoln Thompson Chair and Professor of Medicine, and Associate Director of the University of Chicago Comprehensive Cancer Center. During her tenure as Vice Provost for Research, Dr. Kim collaborated with divisions, schools, centers and institutes across the University and national laboratories to establish strategic research priorities, significantly increase interdisciplinary research and funding success and to enhance broader impact through inclusive innovation.

With extensive expertise in community-based participatory research (CBPR), dissemination and implementation science, intervention, and minority health research, Kim is 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 leads the State of Illinois’ colorectal cancer control program across urban and rural regions and has focused on developing innovative technology-based solutions to address gaps in healthcare services among federally qualified community and rural 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, the American Gastroenterological Association, the American Medical Association, the American Association for Cancer Research, and the American Public Health Association.

She is the College’s first female dean and the only current Korean-American woman to hold such a title nationally.

Dr. Howard K. Koh is the Harvey V. Fineberg Professor of the Practice of Public Health Leadership at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (Harvard Chan) as well as Faculty Co-Chair of the Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative. At Harvard Chan, he is also the inaugural Chair of the Initiative on Health and Homelessness and formerly headed the Center for Public Health Preparedness. He served as the 14th Assistant Secretary for Health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) (2009-2014) after being nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the US Senate, and as Commissioner of Public Health for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (1997-2003) after being appointed by Governor William Weld. He was also appointed by President Bill Clinton to the National Cancer Advisory Board (2000-2002).

A graduate of Yale College (where he was President of the Yale Glee Club) and the Yale University School of Medicine, he trained at Boston City Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, earned board certifications in four medical fields, served as Principal Investigator of research grants totaling $27M and published more than 300 articles in the medical and public health literature. He has received over 70 awards and honors for interdisciplinary accomplishments in medicine and public health including six honorary doctorate degrees, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Award for National Service, the Sedgwick Memorial Medal from the American Public Health Association (its highest honor), the Champion Award from the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids and the Distinguished Service Award from the American Cancer Society.

As part of recognition as a “Medical All Star” by the Boston Red Sox for promoting the early detection and prevention of melanoma, he delivered the ceremonial first pitch at Fenway Park (2003). In 2019, HHS established the annual Dr. Howard K. Koh Award for Excellence in Leadership sponsored by the Federal Asian Pacific American Council. He and his wife Dr Claudia Arrigg are the proud parents of three adult children and the proud grandparents of five grandchildren.

Dr. Linda Lee, MD, serves as the Medical Director of Endoscopy at both Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital. She is also the Director of the National Pancreas Foundation Center for Treatment and Care of Pancreatic Cancer at BWH/Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Lee specializes in advanced endoscopic procedures, including EMR, ERCP, and EUS, with a clinical focus on pancreatic diseases. She has authored over 100 publications in this area and is the solo editor of a widely respected textbook that takes a case-based approach to ERCP and EUS.

She was appointed Editor-in-Chief of iGIE, the online-only journal of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE), and co-chaired an NIDDK workshop on Endoscopic Ultrasound in Pancreatic Diseases. Dr. Lee has also held leadership roles in ASGE, the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG), and the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA).

In addition to her academic and clinical work, Dr. Lee co-founded NEWEndo (New England Women in Endoscopy), a group that brings together women gastroenterologists across the region.

Born as the son of a diplomat, I spent much of my youth living in different countries and being immersed in diverse cultures and languages, including English, French, and Spanish. This global upbringing shaped my perspective and influenced my approach to medicine.

I completed my medical education, general surgery residency, and fellowship in liver transplantation and hepato-pancreato-biliary (HPB) surgical oncology at Seoul National University in Korea. With a strong interest in minimally invasive surgery, I launched a laparoscopic liver program in 2008, followed by a laparoscopic living donor program in 2013 at Samsung Medical Center. These programs have since grown to become some of the largest of their kind in the world.

In 2017, I relocated to the United States, first joining the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and then moving to the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio in 2018. I currently serve as the Section Head of HPB Surgery and Director of Minimally Invasive Liver Surgery. In 2019, I launched a laparoscopic donor program that is now one of the largest minimally invasive living donor programs in the country.

Throughout my career, I have organized and participated in numerous outreach initiatives across Asia and the Americas to support the development of living donor liver transplant and laparoscopic liver resection programs. Over the past 15+ years, I have performed more than 1,000 liver transplants—including 700 living donor transplants—and over 1,000 laparoscopic liver resections, often demonstrating live surgeries internationally.

Jamie A. Ku, MD, is a board-certified Otolaryngology-Head and Neck surgeon in the Cleveland Clinic's Head and Neck Department in the Integrated Surgical Institute. She is also a Staff Member in both the Section of Head and Neck Surgery and Oncology and the Section of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

Her clinical expertise is in the surgical treatment of benign and malignant head and neck tumors and complex reconstruction of the head and neck. Dr. Ku is skilled in the use of minimally invasive surgical techniques, such as transoral robotic surgery, and serves as the Director of the Head and Neck Robotic Surgery Program.

After completing her undergraduate degree at Duke University, Dr. Ku earned her medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in 2010, where she also completed a one-year research fellowship in Head and Neck Tumor Molecular Signaling.

She completed her post-graduate surgical training in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the Johns Hopkins University in 2015. She then pursued a two-year dual fellowship in advanced Head and Neck Surgical Oncology and Microvascular Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Youngwu Kim, MD, is a urogynecologist in the Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery (URPS) Program at Massachusetts General Hospital. She earned her medical degree from Wayne State University School of Medicine and completed her OB/GYN residency at the University of Massachusetts, UMass Memorial. Dr. Kim then went on to complete her fellowship in URPS at Mass General, where she is now a valued member of the urogynecology team. Dr. Kim also practices at the Mass General Pelvic Floor Disorder Center, where she provides expert care for a wide range of benign and complex pelvic floor disorders, including urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse (such as vaginal or uterine prolapse). She also treats complications from prior pelvic surgeries and performs advanced pelvic reconstructive procedures.

She is a surgical member of the Massachusetts General Brigham Transgender Health Program, providing gender-affirming pelvic surgical care as part of a multidisciplinary team. With a focus on minimally invasive techniques, Dr. Kim specializes in laparoscopic and robotically assisted surgeries. Her research interests include clinical and surgical outcomes in pelvic floor and gender-affirming reconstructive surgery, as well as the role of beneficial lactobacilli in the vaginal and bladder microbiomes.

Dr. Rebekah Kim is a board-certified colon and rectal surgeon who has been practicing in Northern Virginia since 2012. She developed a deep commitment to serving the local Korean-American community from her childhood experience of witnessing the challenges her immigrant parents faced as her sister underwent multiple surgical procedures. She completed fellowships in minimally invasive surgery and in colon and rectal surgery at Orlando Health Regional Medical Center and Florida Hospital in Orlando, Florida.

She is a surgical member of the Massachusetts General Brigham Transgender Health Program, providing gender-affirming She completed her general surgery residency at St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital in New York City after completing her medical degree at Dartmouth Medical School in 2005. She works in medical missions with the Pan African Academy of Christian Surgeons (PAACS). She has mentored African surgical residents through PAACS and serves as the Chair of its Spiritual Committee. She also currently trains surgical residents and medical students in Fairfax, Virginia at the UVA School of Medicine Inova Campus. Dr. Kim hails from the New York/New Jersey area and will always be a Yankees fan.

Hyung is a physician scientist who was a tenured faculty member at Yale School of Medicine, where he continues to serve as adjunct faculty. He has published extensively in top scientific and medical journals including Nature, Science, New England Journal of Medicine, Nature Medicine, and Science Translational Medicine, and is an inventor on multiple patents.

He has held multiple academic leadership roles, including Co-Director of the Yale Cardiovascular Research Center and Director of Translational Research of the Yale Pulmonary Vascular Disease Program. He has also served in advisory roles to several large pharmaceutical companies and early-stage biotechs.

Throughout his academic career, Hyung has received continuous funding from the National Institutes of Health and has been recognized with numerous honors. These include the Jeremiah Stamler Distinguished Young Investigator Prize, the Irvine H. Page Award from the American Heart Association, election as a Fellow of the American Heart Association, membership in the Sir William Osler Interurban Clinical Club, and induction into the American Society for Clinical Investigation.

Hyung earned his A.B. with honors in Biochemical Sciences from Harvard College and his M.D. from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He completed his internal medicine residency and cardiovascular fellowship at Stanford and was a visiting scholar at the University of Cambridge. He is a board-certified cardiologist who continues to care for patients with cardiovascular disease.

Dr. Paul Chang is a second-generation Korean-American who grew up in Michigan before completing medical training in Philadelphia and New York City. He completed training at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York and is now an attending physician with the Southern California Permanente Medical Group. Outside of medicine, Dr. Paul Chang enjoys spending time with family and is the proud parent of three beautiful children.

Bobby Mukkamala, MD, a board-certified otolaryngologist—head and neck surgeon, was voted president-elect of the American Medical Association in June 2024. A graduate of the University of Michigan Medical School, he is in solo, private practice in Flint, Mich.

Dr. Mukkamala, who has been active in the AMA since residency, is a past Michigan representative to the AMA Young Physicians Section, a past recipient of the AMA Foundation’s “Excellence in Medicine” Leadership Award and, for 13 years, served as a member of the Michigan delegation to the AMA House of Delegates. In 2009 he was elected to the AMA Council on Science and Public Health and served as its chair from 2016 to 2017.

In addition to his leadership roles at the AMA, Dr. Mukkamala has served as a member of the Michigan State Medical Society Board of Directors since 2011, as board chair for two years, and as its president. He is also a past president of the Genesee County Medical Society (GCMS) and continues to serve on the GCMS Board of Directors.

While a wide range of public health issues are important to Dr. Mukkamala, no issue strikes closer to home than his own city of Flint’s nationally publicized struggles with high levels of lead leaching into the drinking water. As the past chair of the Community Foundation of Greater Flint, he and the foundation’s board became the clearinghouse for funding projects focused on mitigating the effects of lead in local children. He is a member of the board of the Foundation for Flint that is working to increase access to high-quality early education for children—a proven strategy for helping children who have been exposed to lead. He was also recently appointed as a trustee of the C.S. Mott Foundation, which is headquartered in Flint and promotes a just, equitable and sustainable society.

Deeply committed to the revitalization of his hometown, Dr. Mukkamala returned to Flint after completing his residency at Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago in 2000. Today, he shares an office with his wife, Nita Kulkarni, MD, an obstetrician-gynecologist. Together, they have been part of the city’s revitalization, including demonstrating their dedication to Flint by establishing the Endowed Health Professions Scholarships at the University of Michigan, Flint, in 2012.

Outside of medicine, Dr. Mukkamala enjoys tinkering with his car collection and spending time with family that includes twin sons, Deven, a PhD candidate in political philosophy at Duke University and Nikhil, a biomedical engineer.