Hyungmin Cha

Research Overview: My research examines how socioeconomic resources and family ties shape health inequalities across the life course, with a particular focus on aging, dementia, and caregiving. Much of my work investigates how early-life and adult socioeconomic conditions contribute to cognitive health outcomes and how these inequalities are reproduced through intergenerational relationships. Currently, I am involved in several projects aligned with this broad agenda. First, in collaboration with colleagues across multiple institutions, I am studying the life course origins of dementia risk, focusing on how socioeconomic disadvantage and social ties interact to shape cognitive trajectories in later life. Second, I am conducting comparative research using harmonized international data to examine how cross-national differences in family systems and social policies influence caregiving patterns and health outcomes for older adults. Third, in collaboration with interdisciplinary teams, I am investigating the timing and intensity of spousal caregiving and how gender, family roles, and structural constraints contribute to caregiver well-being and health disparities. Across these projects, I aim to integrate demographic methods with sociological theory to understand how health inequalities emerge and persist, while also identifying pathways to promote healthy aging globally.  

Teaching: My teaching interests center on social demography, aging and the life course, medical sociology, and quantitative methods. At the University of Washington, I will regularly teach courses on social demography and aging and the life course, as well as mentor students in research design and data analysis. My teaching emphasizes skill development and inclusive learning environments, drawing on my experience mentoring students and consulting on advanced statistical methods.  

Biography: I received my PhD in Sociology and Demography from the University of Texas at Austin in 2023. Prior to joining the University of Washington, I was a postdoctoral scholar at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. My research has been recognized with the 2023 Richard Kalish Innovative Publication Award from the Gerontological Society of America, and I have published in leading journals such as Demography, Social Forces, Journal of Marriage and Family, Social Science & Medicine, and Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences.