Dr. Suzy Kim has been involved with the Neilsen Foundation since 2017 as a reviewer for the Creating Opportunity & Independence portfolio.

Suzy is currently the SCI Medical Director at Providence St. Jude Centers for Rehabilitation & Wellness and staff physician at VA Long Beach SCI/D Center. The focus of her clinical practice and research involves treating individuals with spinal cord injuries in multiple settings including academic medical centers, regional trauma centers, National Model Systems of Care for SCI, VA SCI Centers, and county hospitals. Suzy has served as a Medical Director and Associate Chief across the spectrum of clinical care from the hospital to the community. Additionally, she has consulting experience in managing catastrophic SCI care for injured workers in the worker’s compensation sector, and utilization review for commercial insurance companies.

Throughout her career, she’s given expert presentations at national conferences and international symposiums for SCI. Academically, Suzy has co-authored SCI chapters in the Handbook of Paralympic Studies, the Olympic Manual of Sports Cardiology, and the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons’ Orthopedic Knowledge Spine Update. As an avid adaptive surfer and wheelchair triathlete, she has volunteered as a Team Physician for the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) Sports Performance Division Olympic and Paralympic teams since 2009, working with Paralympic Track & Field (Athletics), Handcycling, and Wheelchair Tennis teams. She proudly served as one of the Team Physicians at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games, 2012 London Paralympics Games, Para Pan American Games in 2011 and 2015, and World Championships for Paralympic Track & Field in 2010.

After receiving her medical degree from University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine, she completed her residency at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (now the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab) and Northwestern Memorial Hospital. She is board certified in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R) with subspecialty board certification in Spinal Cord Injury Medicine. Currently, Suzy is a senior reviewer for SCI subspecialty board exams, administered by the American Board of PM&R.