PSU History
Hyunwoo Yoon (Pronouns: he/him/his), PhD, MSW, MPH, is an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work. He received his doctoral degree in Social Work at the University of Texas at Austin and master’s degrees in Social Work and Public Health at the University of South Carolina. Before he joined the PSU, he served as an assistant professor in the School of Social Work at the Texas State University.
Experience
He is a fellow of the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Program funded by Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). He has 3 years of post MSW professional social work experience in program management of health and social services programs addressing such issues as physical health, alcohol/substance use, financial stability/asset development, and crime-victim assistance at the non-profit social service agency in Chicago, IL. He serves as a vice president for Korean American Social Work Educators Association (KASWEA; an affiliated group of CSWE) and as an editorial board member for Journal of Public Policy Studies.
Academic/Research Interests
His areas of research interest include gerontology, minority aging, health disparities, health service utilization, and technology-based educational intervention. He has been involved in multiple NIH/government funded research projects. As a Principal Investigator, he has completed a project, "Improving Access to Healthcare in Asian Americans: The Role of Individual and Contextual Factors,” funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Institute on Aging (NIA) Resource Centers for Minority Aging Research to examine a model that integrates individual and environmental dimensions in healthcare access among Asian Americans, using a sample that reflects cultural, ethnic, and linguistic diversities.
Personal Interests
Outside of his work, he enjoys being outdoors with his family and friends, reading non-work-related books, and playing LEGO with his kids. He also loves exploring some of meditating techniques to achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state.