Kristen Choi, PhD, RN, FAAN, is a faculty associate at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and an Assistant Professor in the UCLA School of Nursing and UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Department of Health Policy and Management. She is also an Adjunct Investigator in the Department of Research & Evaluation at Kaiser Permanente Southern California and an Associate Director of Nursing for the UCLA National Clinician Scholars Program. As both a clinician and a scientist, Choi maintains a clinical practice as a registered nurse (RN) at a community psychiatric hospital in Los Angeles.

Choi studies health services and policy approaches to mental health, trauma, and health disparities among children, adolescents, and other vulnerable populations. Her current research projects include studies on adverse childhood experiences, trauma-informed care, autism and developmental disabilities, and the intersection of homelessness and serious mental illness. She addresses child behavioral health from individual, family, system, and policy levels in her research and is committed to a creative, action-oriented program of research that will improve the health of vulnerable children and communities.

Prior to her appointment at UCLA, Choi obtained a PhD in Nursing from the University of Michigan and an MS in Health Policy and Management from the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.