Welcome! I am Nanum, an incoming Postdoctoral Research Associate in Sociology and Princeton University’s Office of Population Research , starting in Fall 2026. I received my Ph.D. in Sociology and M.S. in Statistics from UCLA, an M.P.P. from the University of Tokyo, and a B.A. in Sociology from Ewha Womans University.

I study life-course inequality, with a focus on how institutions organize unequal pathways over time. My research develops computational and causal methods, including large language models and representation learning, to measure life-course trajectories and estimate their consequences for social inequality. My dissertation introduces the framework of trajectory stratification, along with the concepts of trajectory atypicality and the trajectory wage gap, to show how the timing, sequencing, and configuration of work and family experiences become mechanisms of stratification.

My work has appeared in Social Science Research, the Journal of Marriage and Family, and the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, with additional manuscripts under review at the American Sociological Review and a minor revision at Demography. My research has been recognized with the 2026 Outstanding Graduate Student Paper Award from the ASA Mathematical Sociology Section, selection for the 2025 Rising Stars in Data Science workshop, and the Kwanjeong Overseas Scholarship, among other honors.