Biography

Helen Lee Kwon, PhD, Dr. Helen Lee Kwon received her BS in biology at Yale University. She earned her MPH at Yale and her PhD in chronic disease epidemiology with a focus in perinatal epidemiology. Dr. Kwon’s dissertation examined the effects of pregnancy and stage of pregnancy on maternal asthma severity. In addition to continuing to explore measurement issues related to asthma severity and the management of asthma during pregnancy, she hopes to research the social, environmental, and health care contexts for racial/ethnic, socioeconomic, and gender disparities in asthma morbidity in pregnant and non-pregnant asthmatics. Dr. Kwon is also interested in addressing health inequalities and social transformation through nonprofit administration, social entrepreneurship, and mindful activism. She served as a summer instructor in epidemiology and public health to pre-medical students of color, and helped initiate a faith-based health organization which partnered with black churches in health promotion and clinical disease prevention. More recently, she has engaged in on-the-ground advocacy of ecological farmers and food justice efforts, while supporting personal and community transformation as a spiritual companion. Dr. Kwon is currently the development coordinator at Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR).