Kim

Kimberly Thompson, ScD

A world leader in risk analysis and decision science, health policy, global health, and system dynamics, Kim created the Kids Risk Project at the Harvard School of Public Health in 2000, which she directed until 2009. She founded Kid Risk, Inc. as a non-profit organization in October 2008 to develop the field of pediatric risk analysis, empower children, parents, policy makers, and others to improve children’s lives, inform decisions related to the management of children’s risks, and promote children’s health and well-being. A biographical profile of Dr. Thompson was recently published by the Society for Risk Analysis.

Education

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering (1988)

Master of Science in Chemical Engineering Practice (1989)

Harvard University, School of Public Health

Doctor of Science in Environmental Health (1995)

Career Highlights

Kid Risk, Inc.

Founding President (2008-present)

Key accomplishments: Successfully built a team and secured funding to support Kid Risk, Inc. research for over a decade; developed a long-standing and successful collaboration with partners of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative to support global health policy, led the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC)-Kid Risk, Inc. team that won the 2014 INFORMS Edelman Award, and honored by the Society for Risk Analysis with its 2018 Distinguished Achievement Award.

Harvard University & Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Multiple Positions (1989-2010)

Key accomplishments: Associated Professor of Risk Analysis and Decision Science at the Harvard School of Public Health, Visiting Associate Professor in the System Dynamics group at the MIT Sloan School of Management (2005-7); mentored research of numerous students; developed and offered courses at Harvard on probabilistic risk analysis; founded and directed the Harvard Kids Risk Project, co-founded the Harvard Center for Media and Child Health at Boston Children’s Hospital, member of the Harvard University Risk Management Committee, Committee on Higher Degrees in Health Policy, and Committee on the Environment.

University of Central Florida College of Medicine

Professor of Preventive Medicine and Global Health (2012-2018)

Key accomplishments: mentored College of Medicine students on research projects; served on and chaired (2016-2018) the U.S. National Vaccine Advisory Committee, collaborated with colleagues at the College of Business on research related to health of hospitality workers.