Dr. Kim's early research involved the study of the molecular mechanisms underlying volatile anesthetic mediated protection from renal ischemia-reperfusion injury in pre-clinical models. Currently, his research focus is to better characterize the epidemiology of adverse perioperative outcomes such as acute kidney injury. Using the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program, Dr. Kim’s work has explored variations in acute kidney injury risk among different types of general surgery procedures and the interaction effects among major surgical complications with respect to postoperative mortality. In addition, he has applied a novel application of latent class analysis as an empirical method of classifying patients based on their preoperative comorbidities and risk factors for perioperative risk stratification. His work aims to improve our understanding of the risks that patients face in the perioperative period so that strategies to reduce this risk may be implemented.