Kiho Kim, PhD

Kiho Kim, PhD

Kiho Kim is professor in the Department of Environmental Science at American University. He received his PhD in 1996 at the State University of New York–Buffalo, studying the ecology of tropical coral reefs, and did postdoctoral work at Cornell University. Kim has participated in working groups at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) examining the ecology of diseases. He has worked with the British Council in promoting international networking for young scientists and is currently an advisor to the Coral Disease Working Group of the World Bank. As chair of the Department of Environmental Science at American University, Kim focuses on training undergraduate and graduate students to be clear and effective advocates for science in policy making. He is currently a member of the Ocean Studies Board (OSB) of the National Academies of Science (NAS). Kim’s research focuses on understanding the role of diseases in coral population ecology and the synergistic effects of environmental factors, such as nutrient pollution and ocean warming, in the decline of coral reefs. Kim is coauthor of the article, “Aspergillosis of Sea Fan Corals: Dynamics in the Florida Keys” in The Everglades, Florida Bay and Coral Reefs of the Florida Keys(CRC Press). Kim is also coauthor of the article “Diseases and the Conservation of Marine Diversity” in Marine Conservation, edited by E. Norse and L. Crowder (Island Press). In 2009, he helped develop and teach the interdisciplinary course Practice of Environmentalism, which included a10-day research trip to the Galapagos Islands. For more information about the course, go to http://www.american.edu/research/success/galapagos-collaboration-070109.cfm. Projects in his lab include: long-term monitoring of the impact of aspergillosis on sea fan corals in the Florida Keys elucidating the role of microbial communities on coral surfaces in disease examining the interaction between nutrient pollution and disease on the corals reefs studying the impact of marine debris on marine life.