Andrea Kim

Andrea Kim, PhD, MPH is an Adjunct Research Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences. Dr. Kim is the Director for the Vaccine Preventable Disease Control Program at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

Dr. Andrea Kim has 25 years of experience in the development, implementation, evaluation, and management of surveillance, epidemiology, and laboratory science programs at the local, federal, and international level. She has directed, managed, and served as Principal Investigator on research and non-research activities focused on disease surveillance, population-based surveys in high-risk and general populations, and program evaluations on the impact of prevention, care, and treatment programs on disease epidemics. Her peer-reviewed public health and research publications have demonstrated the advancement of the global and national response to infectious diseases in resource-limited settings through innovations in disease surveillance; achievements in reducing disease transmission and improving health through scaling testing, treatment, and laboratory programs; and leveraging of resources and disease systems for integrated infectious disease monitoring.

Dr. Kim served for 15 years at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Division of Global HIV and Tuberculosis, first as a CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer and then as staff, including 4 years stationed in Nairobi, Kenya where she provided technical support to over 50 country teams in the planning, implementation, and oversight of global HIV surveillance and laboratory priorities funded by the US President’s Plan for AIDS Relief. Dr. Kim joined the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH) in October 2019 as Chief of HIV and STD Surveillance in the Division of HIV and STD Programs. In this role, she was responsible for providing strategic direction, leadership, and overall management of the HIV and STD Surveillance Program in the County. Shortly after joining DPH, Dr. Kim was assigned to the COVID-19 Incident Command System where she led the public health response to COVID-19 exposures in the Los Angeles County Education Sector until April 2022.  In this role, she collaborated closely with Early Care and Education Centers, K-12 Grade Schools, and Institutes of Higher Education on management of COVID-19 exposures, contact tracing, and outbreak investigations in educational settings. Dr. Kim oversaw a $302 million dollar federal grant for COVID-19 testing in support of reopening schools during the pandemic, which led to over 16 million tests administered by schools during the 2021/2022 school year. Stemming from her COVID-19 experience, in May 2022, Dr. Kim was appointed the role of Director of the Vaccine Preventable Disease Control Program in Los Angeles County where she provides leadership and oversight on the County’s comprehensive immunization plan to improve immunization coverage levels and prevent vaccine-preventable diseases.

Dr. Kim has authored over 100 peer-reviewed articles and presented over 50 abstracts in international and domestic conferences. She holds a Ph.D. degree in Epidemiology from the University of California at Berkeley, a Master of Public Health degree in Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases from Yale University, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics from the University of California Los Angeles.