Inaugural Korea Chair at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), where her research focuses on military and defense issues on the Korean Peninsula, emerging defense technologies, and strategic innovation.
Her career in defense academics and government service includes six years with the U.S. Department of Defense as Associate Professor and Director of the Asian Studies Program at the U.S. Army War College, alongside a professorship at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies.
Prior to her academic career, she served as a diplomat in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She has held research appointments and fellowships across major policy institutions, including Harvard University's Belfer Center, the Wilson Center, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the Stimson Center, and Eurasia Group. She is the author of Everything but the Bomb: South Korea’s Nuclear Hedging Strategy (Stanford University Press).
She holds a PhD from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and a Master's degree from Harvard University.