Joy Kim is a Ph.D. Candidate working in Dr. Marla Lujan's lab. She earned a B.S. in Nutritional Sciences from Cornell University and went on to complete a dietetic internship at the NIH Clinical Center, concentrating in clinical nutrition research. After earning her registered dietitian (RD) credential, she worked as a Research Associate at Texas A&M University in the Vanden Brink Lab, where she studied the role of nutrition and metabolic health on reproductive maturation during adolescence. Joy is passionate about nutrition and women’s health, leading to her current work focused on the intersections between nutrition, metabolic health, and ovarian function in women with polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS), formerly known as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). She is motivated to advance understanding of how lifestyle factors and dietary interventions can support the prevention and management of PMOS, ultimately improving clinical care.

Joy’s research during her doctoral program in Dr. Marla Lujan’s lab broadly examines the relationships between diet, metabolic health, and reproductive health in women of reproductive age with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Lifestyle intervention, which largely includes diet modification, is recommended as a first-line treatment for PCOS. However, although certain metabolic benefits of these interventions are accepted, the reproductive benefits remain unclear. As such, she aims to understand the factors that contribute to successful reproductive response to lifestyle interventions, with a primary focus on ovulatory outcomes assessed through robust sonographic evaluation of ovarian morphology. She is also interested in understanding how habitual dietary patterns are associated with ovulatory function in women with PCOS, with the goal of identifying modifiable nutritional factors that may contribute to improved reproductive outcomes. Outside of her human nutrition concentration, Joy is minoring in Reproductive Physiology and Molecular Biology.

Joy’s research in Dr. Marla Lujan’s lab examines the relationships between diet, metabolic health, and reproductive health in women of reproductive age with PMOS/PCOS. She aims to understand the follicular dynamics in women with PMOS that lead to anovulation using robust sonographic evaluation of ovarian morphology. She also is working on understanding how habitual dietary patterns are associated with androgen levels, with the goal of identifying modifiable nutritional factors that may improve reproductive outcomes. Furthermore, lifestyle intervention is recommended as first-line treatment for PMOS. However, although certain metabolic benefits of these interventions are accepted, reproductive benefits remain unclear. As such, she aims to understand the factors that contribute to successful ovulatory response to lifestyle interventions. Outside of her precision health concentration, Joy is minoring in Reproductive Physiology and Molecular Biology.

For a full list of my publications, visit my Google Scholar page. 

  • Zhang J, Kim JY, Levine R, Cho C, Lee H, Thoma E, Carter FE, Jarrett BY, Smith B, Vanden Brink H, & Lujan ME. (2026). Impact of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Status on Changes in Reproductive Function During a Hypocaloric Dietary Intervention. Nutrients, 18(4), 654. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18040654
  • Gadiraju M*, Kim JY*, Green EM, MacMillan Uribe A, Chang H, Burgert TS, Olfert MD, & Vanden Brink H. (2025). Barriers and facilitators to lifestyle behavior change and goal setting in adolescents with polycystic ovary syndrome. Frontiers in nutrition, 12, 1628853. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2025.1628853 *Co-first authorship
  • Carter FE, Jarrett BY, Oldfield AL, Vanden Brink H, Kim JY, & Lujan ME. (2025). Impact of Hypocaloric Dietary Intervention on Phenotypic Presentations of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). Nutrients, 17(13), 2223. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17132223
  • Vanden Brink H, McCormick KC, Lujan ME, Chang J, Ipp L, Mudrak EL, Alladeen A, Lamar H, Kim JY, & Mendle J. (2025). Psychological symptoms in perimenarcheal adolescents: association with PCOS risk factors. Frontiers in endocrinology, 16, 1551958. https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2025.1551958
  • Kazemi M, Kim JY, Wan C, Xiong JD, Michalak J, Xavier IB, Ganga K, Tay CT, Grieger JA, Parry SA, Moran LJ, & Lujan ME. (2022). Comparison of dietary and physical activity behaviors in women with and without polycystic ovary syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 39 471 women. Human reproduction update, 28(6), 910–955. https://doi.org/10.1093/humupd/dmac023
  • Kazemi M, Kim JY, Wan C, Xiong JD, Parry SA, Azziz R, & Lujan ME. (2022). Comprehensive evaluation of disparities in cardiometabolic and reproductive risk between Hispanic and White women with polycystic ovary syndrome in the United States: a systematic review and meta-analysis. American journal of obstetrics and gynecology, 226(2), 187–204.e15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2021.07.032
  • Kazemi M, Kim JY, Parry SA, Azziz R, & Lujan ME. (2021). Disparities in cardio metabolic risk between Black and White women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis. American journal of obstetrics and gynecology, 224(5), 428–444.e8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2020.12.019
B.S., Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University