Meet The Team

Research Faculty


Choi, Wonchan
Assistant Professor

Education

Ph.D. in Information Studies, Florida State University
Master of Library and Information Science, Pusan National University
Bachelor of Library and Information Science, Pusan National University

Bio

Wonchan Choi is an Assistant Professor in the School of Information Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM). He received his Ph.D. in Information Studies from Florida State University. Before joining UWM, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Robert A. Foisie School of Business at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts. His areas of research involve human information behavior, human–computer interaction, health information technology, with a particular focus on mobile health applications design, and health informatics. His recent work focuses on older adults’ effective use of health information systems and technologies and its impacts on health- and wellness-related activities in their daily lives, including health information-seeking and self-management of specific health conditions and symptoms.

Interests & Expertise:

Dr. Choi’s general research areas are human-computer interaction, human information behavior, health information technology, with a particular focus on mobile health applications (mHealth apps) design, and health informatics. His research focuses on the user’s effective use of information systems and technology on web and mobile platforms to fulfill needs in different contexts. Recent research has focused on older adults’ health information needs and related behaviors in seeking and using health information both on- and offline and developing assistive technologies, such as mHealth apps, to support older adults’ self-management of chronic health conditions. Dr. Choi has expertise in user studies, determining the requirements of the information systems under development, learning the preferred types of user interface design, testing the usability of the systems, and examining the effects of system design on users’ perceptions of, and experiences with, the systems. Dr. Choi’s research aims to provide research evidence for developing an effective information system, services, and training modules that are aligned with the behaviors and expectations of target audiences.

 


Lee, Yura
Assistant Professor

Education:

Ph.D., Social Work, University of Southern California, 2017
M.A., Social Welfare, Seoul National University, 2011
B.A., Social Welfare/English Language & Literature (double major), Seoul National University, 2009

Bio

Dr. Yura Lee is an assistant professor in the Social Work Department at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Dr. Lee’s primary research focuses on the impact of late life transitions such as retirement and loss of a spouse on cognitive decline and the preventive role of leisure activity (e.g., mental, physical, social) participation in these relationships. She has conducted research on the risk of dementia among older individuals with lower socioeconomic status (e.g., education) and investigated the buffering effect of participation in cognitive leisure activities.

Dr. Lee has expertise in longitudinal data analyses using a large national data such as the Health and Retirement Study. In 2014, she received the Laurence Branch Research Award sponsored by the Retirement Research Foundation. This award recognized her work on investigating the role of cognitive leisure activities in the relationship between education level and risks of cognitive impairment with no dementia (CIND) or dementia among older adults. Dr. Lee used national U.S. data from Aging, Demographics, and Memory Study for this research.

Dr. Lee has participated in several studies focusing on issues such as employment status and quality of life among older Asian immigrants and health and mental health outcomes of grandparent caregivers living in rural areas. Her scholarly work on cognitive function and health outcomes among older adults has been published in journals including Aging & Mental HealthInternational Journal of Aging and Human Development, Research on Aging, and Ageing & Society.

Interests & Expertise:

Dr. Yura Lee’s primary research focuses on risk of dementia or cognitive impairment among older adult population. She is particularly interested in investigating cognitive outcomes among individuals who experience significant late life transitions such as retirement or widowhood. She is dedicated to further examining how engagement in mental, physical and social activities plays role in this life transition-cognition relationship. Dr. Lee has expertise in longitudinal data analyses using a large national data such as the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and the Aging, Demographics, and Memory Study (ADAMS).

 


Oh, Hyunkyoung
Assistant Professor

Education

Ph D Nursing University of Iowa Iowa City, IA
MSN Nursing Chungnam National University Daejeon, South Korea
BSN Nursing Chungnam National University Daejeon, South Korea

Bio

Dr. Oh is studying people with multiple chronic conditions to manage their risk factors using technology. Also, she is interested in the effectiveness of nursing care through evaluations of nursing outcomes to improve quality of nursing interventions

Interests & Expertise:

Dr. Oh’s research is centered around people with metabolic syndrome that is associated with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia to manage their risk factors using technology. She is also interested in the effectiveness of nursing care through evaluations of nursing outcomes to improve quality of nursing interventions.

Her teaching interests include: Health Informatics and Technology, Nursing Administration, Leadership and Management, and Nursing Research.

Her research interests include: Adults with Metabolic Syndrome, Self-management with technology, Effectiveness of Nursing care, Standardized Nursing Languages.

 


Zheng, Jenny
Assistant Professor

Education

Ph.D., 2016, Electrical Engineering, Vanderbilt University
M.S., 2013, Electrical Engineering, Vanderbilt University
M.S., 2011, Pattern Recognition and Intelligent Systems, Xidian University
B.S., 2008, Biomedical Engineering, Xidian University

Bio

My research emphasizes the integration of robotics, computer vision, machine learning, and psychology, with a focus on socially assistive robotics, intelligent systems, human-robot interaction, human-computer interaction, and human-centered computing. The overarching goal of my research is to design and develop reliable assistive systems for people with disabilities and create new paradigms of technology-assisted psychological/psychiatric intervention. This research is highly interdisciplinary, transformative and crosses the boundaries between engineering and psychology. It also provides solutions to challenges that are technically sound and can be adopted in practice.

Interests & Expertise:
Dr. Zheng’s work emphasizes the integration of robotics, computer vision, machine learning, and psychology, with a focus on socially assistive robotics, intelligent systems, human-robot interaction, human-computer interaction, and human-centered computing. The overarching goal of my research is to design and develop reliable assistive systems for people with disabilities and create new paradigms of technology-assisted psychological/psychiatric intervention. This research is highly interdisciplinary, transformative and crosses the boundaries between engineering and psychology. It also provides solutions to challenges that are technically sound and can be adopted in practice.

 


Graduate Students


Kittelson, Michelle Brooke
Research Coordinator

Koirala, Ankit
Research Assistant

Lacke, Megan Caroline
Research Coordinator

Mim, Mayesha
Research Assistant


Undergrad Students


Yang, Kue
Research Coordinator