Dr. Katherine Kim has published over 50 peer-reviewed papers and five book chapters on community and health-related topics.

At MITRE, she focuses on researching and developing telehealth to improve the health of underserved and rural communities in California that are affected by poor environmental conditions, poverty, and healthcare delivery shortages.

In 2021 and 2022, Dr. Kim led the writing of the strategic plan for the Office of the Assistant Secretary Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund (2019-2029).

This plan sets the foundation for a decade of priority actions and investments in national data capacity at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Dr. Kim expressed her gratitude for the honor made possible by MITRE Corporation when accepting her Research Leadership award at the BEYA STEM Conference 2024. She also thanked her family for supporting her mission to deliver real-world digital solutions that improve the health of those underserved by healthcare systems.

“Science and innovation rely on a sense of curiosity,” Kim continued. “Sometimes, we seek to make sense of the things that don’t make sense to us. My family moved to the United States for healthcare and education. We lived in Detroit and were the first minority family to live in an all-white suburb.

“I moved to a small Kansas town and finally to Oakland, California. Living in these diverse communities taught me the importance of resilience and innovation. Technology breakthroughs can improve health for everyone when we co-produce these solutions with the communities we’re trying to serve. This is how we leap forward from innovation to health equity.”