Dr.Ji Eun Kim, Ph.D.
(She/Her)
Associate Professor
Anatomy
- Associate ProfessorAnatomy
- 630-515-6137
BIO
I am a broadly trained biological anthropologist with an emphasis on human anatomy, bioarchaeology, and forensics. My work investigates global human variation observed in the skeleton and examines the effects of sociocultural and bioenvironmental factors shaping such variation.
Originally from Seoul, I received my B.A. and M.A. in Anthropology at Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY, where I developed my research interests in reconstructing the lives of past populations using skeletal remains from the Joseon Dynasty in the Korean Peninsula.
After completing my M.A., I pursued my Ph.D. in Anthropology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. My doctoral dissertation investigated the extent of population variation in the skeletal aging process using documented skeletal samples representing Southeast and East Asian populations. This work opened new opportunities for collaborating with scholars at many national and international institutions and led me to join a National Institute of Justice grant project, "Modeling Surface Morphology of the Pubic Symphysis: Quantitative Methods and Computational Tools for the Objective Estimation of Age-at-Death for Modern Populations," as a postdoctoral research associate at the Department of Scientific Computing, Florida State University, Tallahassee.
In addition to my research expertise, I gained hands-on experience in the daily operations of the body donation program at the Forensic Anthropology Center (a.k.a. The Body Farm(r)), UTK, as a graduate research assistant. My FAC duties included donor retrievals, human remain maceration, database management, and skeletal collection curation. Further, I have worked on case analyses of U.S. forensic victims and casualties of WWII and the Korean War in the Philippines and South Korea. These experiences have offered me insights into the significant role of body donation programs and permanent skeletal collections in advancing science and regional health and mortality disparities of modern populations.
Before joining Midwestern University in 2021, I taught Medical Gross Anatomy at Lincoln Memorial University DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine--Knoxville, TN, to first-year medical students. Academic Phylogeny of Biological Anthropology
ORCid
LinkedIn
Originally from Seoul, I received my B.A. and M.A. in Anthropology at Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY, where I developed my research interests in reconstructing the lives of past populations using skeletal remains from the Joseon Dynasty in the Korean Peninsula.
After completing my M.A., I pursued my Ph.D. in Anthropology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. My doctoral dissertation investigated the extent of population variation in the skeletal aging process using documented skeletal samples representing Southeast and East Asian populations. This work opened new opportunities for collaborating with scholars at many national and international institutions and led me to join a National Institute of Justice grant project, "Modeling Surface Morphology of the Pubic Symphysis: Quantitative Methods and Computational Tools for the Objective Estimation of Age-at-Death for Modern Populations," as a postdoctoral research associate at the Department of Scientific Computing, Florida State University, Tallahassee.
In addition to my research expertise, I gained hands-on experience in the daily operations of the body donation program at the Forensic Anthropology Center (a.k.a. The Body Farm(r)), UTK, as a graduate research assistant. My FAC duties included donor retrievals, human remain maceration, database management, and skeletal collection curation. Further, I have worked on case analyses of U.S. forensic victims and casualties of WWII and the Korean War in the Philippines and South Korea. These experiences have offered me insights into the significant role of body donation programs and permanent skeletal collections in advancing science and regional health and mortality disparities of modern populations.
Before joining Midwestern University in 2021, I taught Medical Gross Anatomy at Lincoln Memorial University DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine--Knoxville, TN, to first-year medical students. Academic Phylogeny of Biological Anthropology
ORCid
MIDWESTERN UNIVERSITY APPOINTMENTS
- Associate ProfessorCollege of Graduate Studies - Illinois
ACADEMIC POSITIONS
- Assistant ProfessorLincoln Memorial University, Knoxville, Anatomy, Knoxville, TN, Knox1 Apr 2019 - 1 Jun 2021
DEGREES
- Ph.D.University of Tennessee- Knoxville, USA2016
- M.A.State University of New York at Binghamton, USA2011
- B.A.State University of New York at Binghamton, USA2007
CERTIFICATIONS
- Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity in Academics (IDEA) CertificateMidwestern University, Downers Grove, United States
POSTGRADUATE TRAINING
- Postdoctoral Research AssociateFlorida State University, Tallahassee, United States1 Aug 2016 - 31 Dec 2018
LANGUAGES
- KoreanCan read, write, speak, understand and peer review
- EnglishCan read, write, speak, understand and peer review
- JapaneseCan read, write, speak and understand
AVAILABILITY
- Collaborative projects
ACADEMIC DEGREE PROGRAM
- Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.)
- Doctor of Physical Therapy (D.P.T.)
CAMPUS
- Downers Grove