Isabelle Kim, MSW

Student, PhD in Social Welfare
Center for Neuroscience and Society Graduate Fellow
PhD
Pronouns she/her/hers
Cohort 2023-2024
Advisor Dr. Phyllis Solomon
Affiliation

Current PhD Students

Program(s)

PhD

Biography

Research Interests

  • Intergenerational trauma
  • Neuroscience and social work
  • Racial trauma
  • Social determinants of health
  • Epigenetics
  • Asian American communities

Isabelle is a PhD student in the School of Policy & Practice. She is interested in investigating the intergenerational transmission of trauma among racial and ethnic minority populations with emphasis on collective grief, identity, social mobility, mental health, and somatic manifestations of health. She hopes to explore inequities related to various social determinants, such as discrimination, educational attainment, and social capital, and how these serve as either protective or risk factors in fostering resilience and healing after trauma. She is currently a Center for Neuroscience and Society Graduate Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania.

Isabelle holds a Bachelor of Arts in Public Health Studies and Psychology from Johns Hopkins University and a Master of Social Work from Boston College where she earned a certificate in Neuroscience and Social Work. Prior to joining SP2, Isabelle was most recently working at Boston Children’s Hospital on a clinical research study examining neurodevelopmental outcomes after prolonged anesthetic exposure in early infancy.