Biography

I was born and grew up in Daegu, a southeastern city in South Korea. I majored in physical therapy at Daegu Catholic University in South Korea. After two years of military service at the military hospital, I came to the United States in 2010. I studied biology at Minnesota State University, Mankato, MN, and graduated in 2013. After that, I pursued a Ph.D. in rehabilitation science at the University of Kansas Medical Center. During my Ph.D. training, I investigated the effects of a mind-body exercise on non-motor symptoms and inflammatory status in people with Parkinson's disease at the Neuromuscular Laboratory in the Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science. At the same time, I also worked at the Laboratory for Advanced Rehabilitation Research in Simulation (LARRS) in the same department. My research work at LARRS included pupillometry and cognition in people with Parkinson's disease, wearable sensor analysis via machine learning techniques, and virtual reality-based balance assessment system development. I also worked at LARRS for a year as a postdoctoral researcher. In 2020, I started my career as an assistant professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY, where I taught various courses including neuroscience, pathology, anatomy, and research methodology.

Currently, I am a director of the MOVE lab and an assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology at the University of New Hampshire. My educational background and research experience include multiple disciplines such as physical therapy, neuroscience, biology, and computer science. Therefore, my interdisciplinary research interest deeply involves virtual reality, machine learning, neuroimaging, and neurological disorders. I also love teaching to help students better comprehend the human body and disorders. I teach two courses, Musculoskeletal Pathologies for Health Professions (HS 656 - Spring) and Neurology (KIN 706 - Summer & Fall).

Education

Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS

Ph.D., Rehabilitation Science, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS

B.S., Biology, Minnesota State University, Mankato, MN

B.S., Physical Therapy, Daegu Catholic University, South Korea