Kim joined the Middlebury faculty in 2004. She received her BS, MA and PhD in psychology and behavioral neuroscience from USC and completed her post-doctoral fellowship at the Portland Alcohol Research Center at Oregon Health and Sciences University. Kim was trained as a behavioral neuroscientist and psychopharmacologist. Her expertise draws from several domains of neuroscience including developmental neuroscience, learning and memory, social neuroscience and addiction. She has spent most of her career investigating the neural mechanisms of fetal alcohol syndrome and alcohol addiction in a rodent model, but has recently changed direction. While her previous lines of research focused on how neuroplasticity could lead to adverse outcomes, her current research explores just the opposite: Kim is investigating how contemplative practices capitalize on neuroplasticity to promote well-being. In fact, learning to practice mindfulness positively affects clinical outcomes for addiction, depression and anxiety disorders. The practices appear to shift brain function in ways that enhance attention, emotion and stress regulation, executive functioning and somatoform awareness. Though changes to functional outcomes occur, the specifics have not yet been identified (i.e. what changes, how the changes occur over time, and the neural correlates of change). To help answer some of these questions, Kim’s research program focuses on how mindfulness practices impact emotion regulation and interpersonal dynamics including aggressive and compassionate behaviors. Her studies enlist both behavioral measures and neurophysiological measures including electrodermal response (EDR), neuroendocrine assays, and electroencephalograph (EEG) brain wave activity. Kim currently teaches the following courses: Mindfulness and Psychology, Physiological Psychology, Condition and Learning, Neurotoxicology and Teratology, Neuropsychology of Addiction, and Introductory Psychology. She will soon teach Behavioral Neuroscience and, hopefully, Social Neuroscience in the near future. Kim also serves as a Faculty Advisor the undergraduate neuroscience journal: Impulse (http://impulse.appstate.edu/). This journal is run by undergraduate students at institutions throughout the U.S. and internationally. A goal of Impulse is to provide students a venue to write-up and publish their independent research projects for dissemination to the scientific community. All articles are evaluated by student reviewers for scientific integrity and then recommended for publication or revision. Middlebury has a very accomplished team of student reviewers led by a student Associate Editor and the team works hard to ensure that Impulse articles meet the highest scientific standards. Impulse’s scientific review process mirrors that of professional journals and provides students first-hand training in the peer-review process. Student Associate Editors also have the privilege of attending and advocating for Impulse at national neuroscience conferences such as the Society for Neuroscience and the Federation for European Neuroscience Societies. Participation is a great way to make an impact! Please feel free to inquire about getting involved!

Psychology