People
We are a research group at the University of Chicago working to further value-based healthcare and public health through academic scholarship.
Image from Kim Research Group Summer Barbeque, July 2025
Principal Investigator
David D. Kim, PhD
Principal Investigator | Assistant Professor of Medicine and Public Health Sciences
David Kim is the principal investigator of the Kim Research Group. His interdisciplinary research integrates health economics, policy evaluation, and decision modeling to advance value-based healthcare decisions. Dr. Kim has made significant contributions in three core research areas: (1) evaluating long-term health outcomes, economic impacts, and equity implications of health interventions to guide evidence-informed policy; (2) developing rigorous methodological approaches in economic evaluation and research prioritization to optimize healthcare resource allocation; (3) identifying geographic and racial disparities in the use of low-value healthcare services to inform targeted policy interventions and resource reallocation strategies.
Dr. Kim’s extensive publication record includes over 60 peer-reviewed articles in prominent journals such as JAMA, Annals of Internal Medicine, Health Affairs, and Medical Decision Making. He has developed innovative analytical tools and disease simulation models, notably the Criteria for Health Economic Quality Evaluation (CHEQUE) tool and the Diabetes, Obesity, Cardiovascular Disease Microsimulation (DOC-M) model. His research frequently informs broader public discourse, having been featured in leading media outlets including The New York Times and The Washington Post. Dr. Kim provides strategic guidance to prominent national and international advisory groups, including the World Health Organization’s Guidelines Development Group, the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER), and currently serves as a Methods Consultant for the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Previously, Dr. Kim served as an Assistant Professor and the Program Director of the Cost-Effectiveness Analysis Registry at the Center for the Evaluation of Value and Risk in Health at Tufts Medical Center. He received his PhD in Health Economics from the University of Washington and holds a Master’s degree in Biostatistics from the University of Michigan.
Investigators
Jennifer Hwang, DO, MSc, DABOM
Instructor of Medicine
Biography
Jennifer Hwang is an instructor of medicine at the University of Chicago. Her research focuses on the cost-effectiveness of anti-obesity medications using the DOC-M microsimulation model, budget impact analyses of obesity treatments, and alternative weight management strategies to manage sustainability and affordability of obesity care.
Dr. Hwang attended Turo College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed a Primary Care Internal Medicine residency at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. Previously, she served as a PITCH Fellow at the University of Chicago.
Research Staff & Students
Elliott Crummer, MA
Project Manager
Biography
Elliott is a Project Manager at the Kim Research Group. Her research interests focus on the evaluation and implementation of public health policies.
Previously, Elliott worked as a Research Associate at the Center for the Evaluation of Value and Risk in Health at Tufts Medical Center. She received her BS and MA in Economics from Miami University.
Danwei Yang, MHSA
PhD Student
Biography
Danwei is a PhD Student in Public Health Sciences at the University of Chicago. With the Kim Research Group, she is working research on food insecurity and the long-term health and economic impacts of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Her research interests include cost-effectiveness analysis, simulation modeling, and health policy.
Danwei received her MHSA in Health Management and Policy from the University of Michigan and BS in Marketing from Wenzhou-Kean University.
Ayush Gupta, BA
MPP Student
Biography
Ayush is a Master of Public Policy student at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago. He also works as a Research Assistant with the Kim Research Group, where his work focuses food and nutrition policy, especially SNAP. His research activities include literature reviews, examining effects across populations, and evaluating the dynamic policy environment. His research interests include health economics, food and nutrition policy, and health equity.
Ayush received his BA in Economics from the Shri Ram College of Commerce, University of Delhi, India. He previously worked as a Senior Associate, Global Medicines Markets at Clinton Health Access Initiatives (CHAI).
Keala Busse, MPP
Research Assistant
Biography
Keala is a research assistant with the Kim Research Group, with her work focused on food is medicine interventions and understanding bias in evidence to inform policy priorities for stakeholders. Her research interests include cost-effectiveness analysis, health literacy and nutrition education, neurodegenerative conditions, chronic migraine and other headache disorders, and policies at the intersection of health and education.
Previously, Keala has worked as an intern with the City of Phoenix Office of Mayor Kate Gallego and at the US Department of State, and worked full time at McKinsey and Company and Eli Lilly. She received her MPP with a certificate in Health Policy at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and received a BS in Political Science and BS in Public Policy from Arizona State University.
Alumni
Kira Fujibayashi
Projects & Publications
DOC-M 2.0: Update of Structure and Efficiency of the DOC-M Model
Zhixin Cao
Projects & Publications
Predictive Modeling of Oral Health in US Adults: A Machine Learning Approach
Yuhao (Jack) Wang
Projects & Publications
Predictive Modeling of Oral Health in US Adults: A Machine Learning Approach
Pontiana Ritika Clement
Projects & Publications
Quantitative Bias Analysis and Value of Information Analysis to Prioritize Food Is Medicine Research
Rini Annie Cherian
Projects & Publications
Predictive Modeling of Oral Health in US Adults: A Machine Learning Approach
Charlie Duncan
Projects & Publications
Food Insecurity Among Medicare Beneficiaries in 2017-2022: A Longitudinal Cohort Study
David Steffen
Projects & Publications
Health Affairs Scholar, 28 Aug 2024