Sunny Kim
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Phone: 602-496-6789
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500 N. 3rd St. MC3020 Office: Health South 358K Phoenix, AZ 85004
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Mail code: 3020Campus: Otherus
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Dr. Sunny Kim is an Associate Professor in the Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation at Arizona State University (ASU) and holds research affiliate and associate appointments with Mayo Clinic and Maricopa Integrated Health System. She is a health communication and behavioral scientist whose research program focuses on the development, evaluation, and implementation of behavioral and digital interventions to promote health, prevent disease, reduce psychological distress, and support adaptation in both clinical and community settings.
A major area of her work involves digital storytelling (DST) as a psychosocial and health promotion intervention to improve health behaviors, emotional well-being, and adjustment. Across multiple funded studies, she has developed, implemented, and evaluated DST interventions, with expertise in narrative health communication, intervention development, feasibility and efficacy testing, participant engagement, and assessment of narrative responses.
Her research also incorporates mobile health (mHealth) technologies and heart rate variability biofeedback to examine and support emotional and self-regulatory processes. Her work serves diverse populations, including cancer patients and caregivers, racial and ethnic minority communities, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia caregivers, patients with type 2 diabetes, and individuals with chronic migraine.
- Ph.D. George Mason University
- M.A. Michigan State University
- B.A. New Mexico State University
- B.A. Seoul Women's University
- Digital storytelling intervention
- Behavioral and psychosocial intervention
- mHealth and digital intervention
- Heart rate variability biofeedback
- Cancer prevention and survivorship
- Community-based participatory research
- Health promotion
- Health disparities
- Qualitative and quantitative methodology
For a current list of publications and research activity visit https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=r0Ci5UAAAAAJ&hl=en&authuser=5&oi=ao (selected publications)
- Kim, S.W., *Lozano, F., Todd. M., Larkey, L., *Bahrami, R., *Juwadi, K., & Koskan, A. (2025). Digital storytelling to reduce Hispanic parents’ COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy: A pilot randomized controlled trial. Vaccines. 13(11), 1093. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines13111093. PMID: 41295466.
- Fiddian-Green, A., Kim, S., Gubrium, A., Larkey, L., Peterson, J.C. (2019). Restor(y)ing health: A conceptual model of the effects of digital storytelling. Health Promotion and Practice, 20(4), 502-512.
- Kim, S.W., James, D.L., Koffer, R.E., *Ou, L., *Nair, L., *Bahrami, R., Fauble, V., Khera, N., & Larkey, L. (2025). Testing the feasibility of a digital storytelling intervention combined with heart rate variability biofeedback in hematopoietic cell transplant patients. Journal of Clinical and Translational Science, 9 (1), e35. doi: 10.1017/cts.2024.619. PMID: 40052050; PMCID: PMC11883578.
- Kim, S.W., Langer, L., *Ahern, M., Larkey, L., Todd, M., *Martin, D., Weihs, K.,& Khera, N. (2023). Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation patient- caregiver dyad perspectives on participation in a digital storytelling intervention: A qualitative approach. Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, 29(8), 520.e1-520.e7, 10.1016/j.jtct.2023.04.021.
- Kim, S.W., Chen, A.C., *Ou, L., Larkey, L., Todd, M., &. *Han, Y. (2023). Feasibility and acceptability of developing a culturally and linguistically congruent digital storytelling intervention among Vietnamese and Korean American mothers of HPV-vaccinated children. JIMR Formative Research,7, doi:10.2196/45696, PMID: 37314851.
Grants & Project
NIH/NICHD, R21HD110837-01A1 09/01/2023-08/30/2025
Title: Reducing Vaccine Hesitancy among Hispanic Parents of COVID-19 Vaccine-Eligible Children
Role: Principal Investigator, Multiple (with Dr. Alexis Koskan)
Goal: This project is to assess the digital storytelling intervention feasibility and preliminary effectiveness to promote COVID-19 vaccination
NIH/NCI, R15CA213035 09/01/2017-12/31/2021
Title: Effects of Digital Stories Intervention on Psychosocial Well-being for Cancer Patients and Caregivers undergoing Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation (HCT)
Role: Principal Investigator
Goal: This project is to examine long-term effects of digital stories intervention on psychosocial well-being for both HCT patients and caregivers (total n=220) over 4 weeks of interventions using a double-blinded, RCT, and mixed-methods study design
NIH/NIDDK, F32DK135200-01A1 12/01/2023-12 /30/2026
Title: Factors influencing positive change in glycemic control and Type 2 diabetes self-management behavior among Latinx individuals in a digital storytelling intervention: A mixed-methods study
Role: Mentor
Goal: To identify and explain which sociodemographic factors and baseline type 2 diabetes metrics influence how Latinx individuals respond to a digital storytelling intervention.
Institute for Social Science Research Seed Grant 06/01/2025-05/31/2027
Title: Feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a remotely delivered app-based heart rate variability biofeedback (HRVB) intervention for chronic migraine
Role: Principal Investigator
Goal: To test the feasibility and acceptability of a remotely delivered an app-based HRVB intervention among 30 adults with chronic migraines.
Southwest Interdisciplinary Research Center Pilot Grant 10/01/2020-03/01/2024
(funding comes from NIMHD/NIH, U54MD002316-11, PI: F. Marsiglia)
Title: Development and Feasibility Testing of a Culture-Centric Digital Storytelling Intervention to Promote HPV Vaccination in Korean American (KA) Youths
Role: Principal Investigator
Goal: To develop digital in-person stories from KA immigrant mothers about HPV vaccination of their children and examine the feasibility and the preliminary effectiveness of the digital storytelling intervention among 50 KA mothers of unvaccinated boys and girls aged 11-14.
Courses
2027 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| BIO 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| HCR 406 | Hlth Litrcy for Hlth Cr Prof |
| NUR 799 | Dissertation |
| HCR 280 | Team-Based Research Practicum |
| HCR 480 | Adv Team-Based Research Pract |
2026 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| NUR 799 | Dissertation |
| HCR 406 | Hlth Litrcy for Hlth Cr Prof |
| HCR 280 | Team-Based Research Practicum |
| HCR 480 | Adv Team-Based Research Pract |
2026 Summer
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| NUR 799 | Dissertation |
2026 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| NUR 799 | Dissertation |
| NUR 799 | Dissertation |
| HCR 480 | Adv Team-Based Research Pract |
| NUR 692 | Research |
| NUR 799 | Dissertation |
2025 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| NUR 799 | Dissertation |
| HCR 280 | Team-Based Research Practicum |
| HCR 480 | Adv Team-Based Research Pract |
| NUR 799 | Dissertation |
2025 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| NUR 799 | Dissertation |
| HCR 406 | Hlth Litrcy for Hlth Cr Prof |
| HCR 280 | Team-Based Research Practicum |
| HCR 480 | Adv Team-Based Research Pract |
| NUR 799 | Dissertation |
| NUR 799 | Dissertation |
2024 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| NUR 799 | Dissertation |
| HCR 480 | Adv Team-Based Research Pract |
| NUR 692 | Research |
2024 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| HCR 493 | Honors Thesis |
| HCR 480 | Adv Team-Based Research Pract |
2023 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| CHS 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| HCR 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| HCR 280 | Team-Based Research Practicum |
| HCR 480 | Adv Team-Based Research Pract |
| CHS 493 | Honors Thesis |
2023 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| NUR 609 | Quant Research Design Methods |
| HCR 494 | Special Topics |
2022 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| HCR 406 | Hlth Litrcy for Hlth Cr Prof |
| HCR 494 | Special Topics |
2021 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| HCR 406 | Hlth Litrcy for Hlth Cr Prof |
| HCR 294 | Special Topics |
| HCR 494 | Special Topics |
| NUR 690 | Reading and Conference |
- 2023 Professor of Impact Award (nominated by a student), Arizona State University
- 2019-2020, Featured Grantee for the Behavioral Research Program’s Health Communication and Informatics Research Branch (HCIRB), National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institute of Health (NIH)
- 2019, Top Early Career Poster Award, D.C Health Communication Conference, Fairfax, VA.
- 2019, Certified as a Heart Math Professional Trainer, Heart Math, Boulder Creek, CA
- 2018, Digital Storyteling Facilitator Intenstive Training, Story Center, Berkeley, CA.
- 2017, Distinguished Alumni Award, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, George Mason University
- 2016, Outstanding Alumni Award, Department of Communication, George Mason University