Rate My Professor Isok Kim

Isok Kim is an Associate Professor (with tenure) in the School of Social Work at the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, where he has been since 2012, advancing from Assistant Professor (2012-2018) to his current role in 2018. He held the position of MSW Program Director from 2019 to 2023 and served as Interim Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in Spring 2023. Kim holds a PhD in Social Work and Psychology from the University of Michigan (2012), an MA in Psychology from the University of Michigan (2009), an MSW with a concentration in Multi-Ethnic Practice from the University of Washington (2000), and a BS from the University of Washington (1996). As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in New York State, his pre-academic experience includes serving as a mental health clinical case manager in the Adult Mental Health Program and as a chemical dependency professional in the Substance Abuse Treatment Program at Asian Counseling and Referral Service in Seattle, Washington, as well as a mental health therapist on the Community Outreach Treatment Team at the Monsignor Carr Institute for Catholic Charities in Buffalo from 2004 to 2006.

Kim's research specializations include immigrants and refugees, refugee-related trauma, post-resettlement challenges, cultural competence and humility in interprofessional education, community-based participatory research, and mental health outcomes among Asian Americans, particularly Burmese/Karen refugees in Buffalo, examining effects of discrimination on acculturative processes and behavioral health. He has received awards such as the Fahs-Beck Doctoral Dissertation Grant (2011-2012) and the SAMHSA Minority Fellowship Program (2006-2009), and secured numerous grants as PI or Co-I, including from the Asian American Federation (2024), University at Buffalo's Asia Research Institute (2024), and Community for Global Health Equity. Key publications are "Trauma, post-migration stress, and mental health: A comparative analysis of refugees and immigrants in the United States" (Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 2019), "Beyond trauma: Post-resettlement factors and mental health outcomes among Latino and Asian refugees in the United States" (Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 2016), "Social determinants of health and mental health among Asian Americans in the United States" (Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research, 2012), and "Centering Asian Americans in Social Work Education, Research, and Policy" (Journal of Social Work Education, 2025). A member of the Council on Social Work Education, Society for Social Work and Research, Asian American Psychological Association, and Society of Refugee Healthcare Providers, Kim has contributed to interprofessional tools like the UB iSDoH Scale, supervised PhD students, and presented at national conferences on refugee mental health.