Suzy Kim, M.D.
Assistant Clinical Professor, Dept. Orthopaedic Surgery and PM&R
Medical Director, Acute Spinal Cord Injury Program
Director, Clinical Spinal Injury Program & Scientific Liaison at
Reeve-Irvine Research Center

Click HERE to make an appointment online

Email: suzyk@uci.edu

Dr. Kim's CV

Clinical Specialty
Comprehensive Rehabilitation for Spinal Cord Injuries (SCI), Spine Disorders and Neurologic Rehabilitation.

Clinical Interests
Dr. Kim’s clinical interests include the management of neurogenic bladder, cardiovascular fitness, spasticity, musculoskeletal injuries related to repetitive use and rehabilitation technology. Her clinical practice is limited to non-surgical management and rehabilitation for spine and neurologic injury or disease with emphasis on wellness and exercise-based rehab therapies. She offers electrodiagnostic evaluations and botox for functional management of neurogenic spasticity. At UCI Medical Center, her leadership and expertise will focus on implementing SCI specific clinical pathways and acute medical management for the Clinical Spinal Cord Initiative Program.

Research Interests
Dr. Kim’s interests are in translational neuroscience and clinical research in SCI with focus on future clinical trials, rehabilitation, and novel outcome measures for neuroplasticity. As the scientific liaison at the Reeve-Irvine Research Center (www.reeve.uci.edu), she serves as a true liaison between the renowned scientists and clinicians at UCI while developing education programs in the community. She is currently the Lead Investigator for the “California SCI Registry and Clinical Database” and Co-Principal Investigator for a NIH supported grant to study “Mental Practice on Gait and Cortical Organization in SCI” using functional MRI technology. More recently, she has received a grant from the Roman Reed SCI Fund of California to evaluate the measurement and function of postural trunk muscles following thoracic SCI (www.romanreedfoundation.com).

Background
After receiving her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley, she earned her medical degree from University of Southern California. Dr. Kim then completed her residency training at the top ranked Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. Prior to joining UCI Medical Center, she was the Associate Chief in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Medical Director of the Inpatient Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Program at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center and remains a clinical instructor in Orthopedic Surgery at Stanford University. As the Northern California Regional Spinal Cord Injury and Traumatic Brain Injury Model System of Care*, she gained extensive clinical experience in the medical and peri-operative management of newly injured individuals.

*The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, designates specialized centers as Model Systems of Care based on excellence in clinical care, research and education.

Prior to joining UCI, she also worked with Kaiser Permanente in Northern California to develop an outpatient practice in neurologic rehabilitation including specialty clinics for gait abnormalities, orthotic and prosthetic management for amputees, and spasticity management following brain injuries, stroke, multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injuries. While at Kaiser, Dr. Kim quickly became the regional rehabilitation specialist for individuals with spina bifida, poliomyelitis and neurologic impairments due to degenerative spinal myelopathies.

As a board certified physician in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and one of 500 U.S. physicians with subspecialty board certification in spinal cord injury medicine, Dr. Kim has been invited to give expert presentations at national conferences and international symposiums for SCI. Presently, she serves as the Chair for the Advocacy Committee with the American Spinal Injury Association. Dr. Kim also remains active in the community serving on the Medical Advisory Board for the Life Rolls On Foundation and the Challenged Athletes Foundation. Since 2008, she has served as an Ambassador for the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation for minority community outreach programs. As an avid athlete herself, she competes in triathlons every year. Combining her own athletic interests and expertise, she will serve as the Team Physician for the USA Paralympic Track and Field team’s upcoming 2010-2011 National and International level competitions.

Medical Degree
University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine

Residency
Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago,
Northwestern University Medical Center

Awards
2010 “Medical Practitioner Excellence Award”
Tichi Wilkerson Kassel Movement Therapy Foundation

2006 Jose C. Montero Excellence in Teaching Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Stanford University, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

2005 Humanitarian Award, in Honor of James D. Thompson, MD
Stanford University, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

2004 Helen Cooper Outstanding Resident Teacher Award
Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

2004 Sarah Baskin Award for Excellence in Research, 2nd Place
Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

2003 Joanne S. Crown Resident
Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

2001 Program Director’s Award
Lutheran General Hospital, Department of Internal Medicine

2000 Frederick Napier Elliot Award
University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine

Board Certification
American Board of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, FAAPMR
Spinal Cord Injury Medicine Subspecialty

Please visit our new Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine Center in Costa Mesa at:

1640 Newport Blvd., Suite 230
Costa Mesa, CA 92627
949-515-5210

www.sportsmedicine.uci.edu

Dr. Nitin Bhatia and Dr. Thay Lee were presented with the prestigious "Harold and Nancy Willingham Award for Outstanding Research Paper" at the meeting of the Western Orthopaedic Association this year. Drs. Bhatia and Lee presented their paper, entitled "Biomechanical Evaluation of Short-Segment Posterior Instrumentation with Crosslinks In An Unstable Human Burst Fracture Model".

The WOA, with more than 1,700 members, held it's 73rd annual meeting in Seattle, Washington.

Dr. Bhatia, an orthopaedic surgeon and Dr. Lee, a Ph.D Research Career Scientist/Biomedical Engineer, are on staff at University of California at Irvine.