About

Hwansoo Kim is a Professor of Korean Buddhism and Culture in the Department of Religious Studies at Yale University. He received his Ph.D. in the colonial history of Korean and Japanese Buddhism from Harvard University in 2007. His academic career includes teaching positions at Duke University, where he held a joint appointment in the Department of Religious Studies and the Asian & Middle Eastern Studies Department from 2009 to 2018, and at the University of Arizona in the East Asian Studies Department from 2008 to 2009. His research focuses on colonial, modern, and contemporary Korean Buddhism from a transnational perspective. He is the author of 'Empire of the Dharma: Korean and Japanese Buddhism, 1877–1912' and 'The Korean Buddhist Empire: A Transnational History, 1910-1945,' both published by Harvard University Asia Center. Additionally, he is the co-author of 'New Perspectives in Modern Korean Buddhism' and is currently working on a book project titled 'Clerical Marriage in Modern Korean Buddhism.'

Research topics

• Medicine
• Cell biology
• General surgery
• Materials science
• Intensive care medicine
• Biomedical engineering
• Engineering
• Biology
• Surgery
• Medical physics
• Statistics
• Nanotechnology
• Radiology

Selected publications

• Development of a Hybrid Attention Transformer for Daily PM2.5 Predictions in Seoul

  Atmosphere · 2025-01-01 · 4 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  A hybrid attention transformer (HAT) was developed for accurate daily PM2.5 predictions in Seoul. The performance of the HAT was evaluated through a comparative analysis of its predictions against ground-based observations and those from a three-dimensional chemical transport model (3-D CTM). The results demonstrated that the HAT outperformed the 3-D CTM, achieving a 4.60% higher index of agreement (IOA). Additionally, the HAT exhibited 22.09% fewer errors and 82.59% lower bias compared to the 3-D CTM. Diurnal variations in PM2.5 predictions from both models were also analyzed to explore the characteristics of the proposed model further. The HAT predictions closely aligned with observed PM2.5 throughout the day, whereas the 3-D CTM exhibited significant diurnal variability. The importance of the input features was evaluated using the permutation method, which revealed that the previous day’s PM2.5 was the most influential feature. The robustness of the HAT was further validated through a comparison with the long short-term memory (LSTM) model, which showed 18.50% lower errors and 95.91% smaller biases, even during El Niño events. These promising findings highlight the significant potential of the HAT as a cost-effective and highly accurate tool for air quality prediction.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Retrospective Clinical Studies in Interventional Oncology: Relevance and Challenges

  CardioVascular and Interventional Radiology · 2025-08-06 · 1 citations

  reviewOpen accessSenior author

  Retrospective clinical studies are critical in interventional oncology (IO), offering insights by analyzing existing data. They are cost-effective, time-efficient, and invaluable for exploring real-world treatment trends, long-term effects, and rare diseases. Retrospective studies provide critical support for hypothesis generation, post-marketing surveillance, and addressing ethically or logistically challenging questions unsuitable for prospective or randomized controlled trials (RCTs). To maximize their utility, retrospective studies must ensure robust data quality, clear objectives, advanced statistical methods, and transparency. Despite challenges like biases and limited causal inference, their ability to complement RCTs and other types of prospective trials help to close crucial gaps in evidence generation, which makes them indispensable for research in the rapidly evolving field of interventional oncology.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Author Correction: Epidemiology, treatment and outcomes of primary renal sarcomas in adult patients

  Scientific Reports · 2024-05-24

  erratumOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Trends and classification of aerosol observed from MODIS sensor over Northern Europe and the Arctic

  Atmospheric Pollution Research · 2024-10-10 · 1 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• A rare case of straight-back syndrome causing airway obstruction

  Respiratory Medicine Case Reports · 2024-01-01

  articleOpen access

  Straight-back syndrome is a rare congenital condition involving the loss of the normal dorsal curvature of the upper thoracic spine. This leads to flattening of the upper thoracic cavity, resulting in compression of the underlying vasculature and airways. In this case report, we discuss the management of an 18-year-old male with straight-back syndrome who was referred to our interventional pulmonary clinic for further management of his stridor and apneic events. A trial of airway stenting was done which resolved the patient's respiratory symptoms. Definitive surgical correction was not applicable due to other significant medical conditions, but tracheostomy provided a sustainable alternative treatment. Tracheostomy tube placement and airway stenting are reasonable alternatives to surgery for patients who experience airway obstruction due to straight-back syndrome. Stent placement may also relieve respiratory symptoms but is associated with a higher rate of complications.

  PublisherDOI

• Epidemiology, treatment and outcomes of primary renal sarcomas in adult patients

  Scientific Reports · 2024-05-02 · 3 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  To assess epidemiology, clinical presentation, treatment and overall survival of adult patients with renal sarcomas, the 2004-2016 SEER and NCDB databases were queried for adult patients diagnosed with renal sarcoma, calculating average annual age-adjusted incidence rates (AAIR) and average annual percentage change (AAPC) as well as overall survival (OS). In n = 1279 included renal sarcoma patients, AAIR remained constant over the study period (average 0.53 cases/1million; AAPC = 0.7, p = 0.6). Leiomyosarcoma (AAIR 0.14 cases/1 million) and malignant rhabdoid tumors (0.06 cases/1 million) were most common. Sarcoma histiotypes demonstrated considerable heterogeneity regarding demographic and cancer-related variables. Patients presented with advanced local extent (T3 33.3%; T4 14.2%) or distant metastases (29.1%) and commonly underwent surgical resection (81.6%). Longer OS was independently associated with younger age, female sex, lower comorbidity index, low T stage, negative surgical margins, absence of tumor necrosis or distant metastases and leiomyosarcoma histiotype (multivariable p < 0.05 each). Treatment efficacy varied according to sarcoma histiotype (interaction p < 0.001). Accounting for 0.25% of renal malignancies, renal sarcomas include 43 histiotypes with distinct epidemiology, clinical presentation, outcomes and sensitivity to systemic therapy, thereby reflecting soft-tissue sarcoma behavior. Renal sarcoma treatment patterns follow recommendations by renal cancer guidelines with surgical resection as the cornerstone of therapy.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Epidemiology, treatment and outcomes of gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms

  Scientific Reports · 2024-12-17 · 21 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  To investigate incidence, treatment patterns and outcomes of gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (GEP-NEN) in the United States. The 2019 National Cancer Database was searched for adult GEP-NEN patients. Main outcomes included overall and site-specific incidence, treatment patterns, and overall survival (OS). Overall survival was evaluated using averaged Cox regression. 86,324 GEP-NEN patients were included (6.33% of all GEP malignancies). From 2004 to 2016, annual GEP-NEN cases increased (n = 4,010 to n = 9,379), largely driven by low-stage, low-grade disease. Most patients received surgery, either alone (72.9%) or in combination with systemic therapy (4.9%). Longest overall survival (OS) was evident in patients with low stage and low grade GEP-NEN of the small intestine and rectum (p < 0.001). Patients undergoing surgical resection demonstrated longest OS. The addition of systemic therapy was most effective in high stage G3 NEN. Having higher income (≥$63,333) and private insurance or Medicare, but not Medicaid, was associated with improved survival. GEP-NEN incidence increases, likely due to improved detection and diagnosis. Treatment patterns have evolved to follow the latest international guidelines and site-specific improvement in survival is noted. In addition to disease specific factors, insurance access and socioeconomic factors emerged as potential targets for improving outcomes.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Stage IA papillary and chromophobe renal cell carcinoma: effectiveness of cryoablation and partial nephrectomy

  Insights into Imaging · 2024-07-06

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effectiveness of cryoablation compared to partial nephrectomy in patients with stage IA papillary and chromophobe renal cell carcinoma (pRCC; chRCC). MATERIAL AND METHODS: The 2004-2016 National Cancer Database was queried for adult patients with stage IA pRCC or chRCC treated with cryoablation or partial nephrectomy. Patients receiving systemic therapy or radiotherapy, as well as those with bilateral RCC or prior malignant disease were excluded. Overall survival (OS) was assessed using Kaplan-Meier plots and Cox proportional hazard regression models. Nearest neighbor propensity matching (1:1 cryoablation:partial nephrectomy, stratified for pRCC and chRCC) was used to account for potential confounders. RESULTS: A total of 11122 stage IA renal cell carcinoma patients were included (pRCC 8030; chRCC 3092). Cryoablation was performed in 607 (5.5%) patients, and partial nephrectomy in 10515 (94.5%) patients. A higher likelihood of cryoablation treatment was observed in older patients with non-private healthcare insurance, as well as in those with smaller diameter low-grade pRCC treated at non-academic centers in specific US geographic regions. After propensity score matching to account for confounders, there was no statistically significant difference in OS comparing cryoablation vs partial nephrectomy in patients with pRCC (HR = 1.3, 95% CI: 0.96-1.75, p = 0.09) and those with chRCC (HR = 1.38, 95% CI: 0.67-2.82, p = 0.38). CONCLUSION: After accounting for confounders, cryoablation, and partial nephrectomy demonstrated comparable OS in patients with stage IA papillary and chromophobe RCC. Cryoablation is a reasonable treatment alternative to partial nephrectomy for these histological RCC subtypes when radiologically suspected or diagnosed after biopsy. CRITICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT: Cryoablation might be considered as an upfront treatment alternative to partial nephrectomy in patients with papillary and chromophobe stage IA renal cell carcinoma, as both treatment approaches yield comparable oncological outcomes. KEY POINTS: The utilization of cryoablation for stage IA papillary and chromophobe RCC increases. In the National Cancer Database, we found specific patterns of use of cryoablation. Cryoablation and partial nephrectomy demonstrate comparable outcomes after accounting for confounders.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Synergistic combination of information from ground observations, geostationary satellite, and air quality modeling towards improved PM2.5 predictability

  npj Climate and Atmospheric Science · 2023-05-23 · 11 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Concentrations of ambient particulate matter (such as PM 2.5 and PM 10 ) have come to represent a serious environmental problem worldwide, causing many deaths and economic losses. Because of the detrimental effects of PM 2.5 on human health, many countries and international organizations have developed and operated regional and global short-term PM 2.5 prediction systems. The short-term predictability of PM 2.5 (and PM 10 ) is determined by two main factors: the performance of the air quality model and the precision of the initial states. While specifically focusing on the latter factor, this study attempts to demonstrate how information from classical ground observation networks, a state-of-the-art geostationary (GEO) satellite sensor, and an advanced air quality modeling system can be synergistically combined to improve short-term PM 2.5 predictability over South Korea. Such a synergistic combination of information can effectively overcome the major obstacle of scarcity of information, which frequently occurs in PM 2.5 prediction systems using low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite-borne observations. This study first presents that the scarcity of information is mainly associated with cloud masking, sun-glint effect, and ill-location of satellite-borne data, and it then demonstrates that an advanced air quality modeling system equipped with synergistically-combined information can achieve substantially improved performances, producing enhancements of approximately 10%, 19%, 29%, and 10% in the predictability of PM 2.5 over South Korea in terms of index of agreement (IOA), correlation coefficient (R), mean biases (MB), and hit rate (HR), respectively, compared to PM 2.5 prediction systems using only LEO satellite-derived observations.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Inferior Vena Cava Thrombectomy and Stenting as Bridge to Liver Transplantation After Radiotherapy-Induced Thrombosis

  Progress in Transplantation · 2023-11-09

  article
  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant K08DK002549

  NIH · $586k · 2005

Frequent coauthors

• Minzhi Xing

  133 shared

• Johannes Ludwig

  University Medical Centre Mannheim

  123 shared

• Vinutha R. Thonse

  University of Mosul

  66 shared

• Kara Judson

  Johns Hopkins University

  66 shared

• Nima Kokabi

  64 shared

• Johannes Uhlig

  Klinik Sonnenhof

  56 shared

• Juan C. Camacho

  Radiology Associates

  51 shared

• Stacey Stein

  Yale University

  44 shared