Wooksoo Kim

Wooksoo Kim’s work and research aims to improve the lives of immigrant and refugee populations in the U.S. by understanding their needs and designing culturally responsive intervention approaches to address those needs.

Since she co-founded the Immigrant and Refugee Research Institute at UB in 2014, she has served as co-director and director of the institute since 2017. Through the institute’s work, Kim is committed to community-based research that involves the equal exchange of knowledge and ideas between scholars and immigrant and refugee populations.

Also, Kim’s research and teaching interests are integrated with a focus on communities. From her earlier research to her current research focus, her research topics are centered around communities that social workers serve. In her teaching, for example, she utilizes a service-learning model, where students can learn research methods while providing-much needed program evaluations to local social work programs and agencies.

Kim’s earlier work examined a range of issues impacting Asian immigrants, such as mental health, alcohol use and gambling. These and other projects, investigating understudied challenges facing Asian immigrant populations, including older immigrants, contribute to debunking “model minority” myths.

Kim can respond to interview requests in English and Korean.

Wooksoo Kim, PhD
Associate Professor of Social Work
Director of the Immigrant and Refugee Research Institute
University at Buffalo School of Social Work

• 716-645-1227
• wkim5@buffalo.edu
• Wooksoo Kim’s website
• Immigrant and Refugee Research Institute website