Research
Research Areas
Bioinformatics
This field studies the mechanism underlying human diseases by investigating the network of gene regulation using the big data analysis of genomes.
| PROFESSOR | KEYWORD |
|---|---|
| Dougu Nam | Disease gene discovery, transcriptome/genome data analysis |
Cancer Biology
These labs seek to identify the mechanisms inherent at the molecular and cellular level integral to the processes of tumor formation, cancer penetration and its metastasis, as well as conduct research for clinical applications, such as cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
| PROFESSOR | KEYWORD |
|---|---|
| Young Chan Chae | Molecular mechanism of cancer progression, Drug target discovery |
| Byoung Heon Kang | Mechanism of tumorigenesis/First-in-class drug development |
| Sebyung Kang | Protein nanobiotechnology-based cancer diagnosis and therapy |
| Eunhee Kim | Understanding and targeting cancer |
Development
Developmental biology is one area of life sciences to study the growing process from embryo to tissues and organs. In addition, developmental biology includes the research on stem cell differentiation and regeneration of injured organs.
| PROFESSOR | KEYWORD |
|---|---|
| Tae Joo Park | Muco-ciliary epithelium, cartilage formation, osteoarthritis |
Genomic Integrity
DNA is a genetic material and hence the damage of DNA not only threatens genomic integrity the life but also causes diseases. Therefore, DNA damage is repaired by diverse repair pathways. This research area investigates the origins of DNA damage and how cells maintain their genomic stability. Furthermore, the research on DNA damage repair provides in-depth understanding of molecular mechanism behind diverse human diseases such as cancer.
| PROFESSOR | KEYWORD |
|---|---|
| Anton Gartner | Cellular and organismal response to DNA damage |
| Hongtae Kim | Study of cancer pathogenesis by regulating the DNA damage response pathways |
| Jayil Lee | DNA damage repair; chromatin dynamics |
| Orlando Schaerer | DNA damage and repair and its relationship to cancer biology and therapy |
Immunology
This area is related with the body’s defense mechanisms against pathogens and the study of immune diseases, such as autoimmunity, cancer, allergies, and organ transplantation. Knowledge gained through immunological research can be applied to vaccine development and treatment enhancement.
| PROFESSOR | KEYWORD |
|---|---|
| Myunggon Ko | Molecular mechanisms of cancers and metabolic diseases |
| Hyug Moo Kwon | Immunotherapeutic target discovery, Covid-19 drug development |
| Sangjoon Lee | Viral Innate Immunity, Viral Vaccine and Drug Development |
| Sung-ho Park | Innate immune mechanisms guiding Inflammation and homeostasis |
Metabolism
Studying metabolism that regulates synthesis and digestion of all biomolecules is essential for understanding the fundamentals of life.
The research on metabolism reveals the mechanism underlying diverse metabolic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular diseases and provides the molecular basis for therapeutics and drug development.
| PROFESSOR | KEYWORD |
|---|---|
| Jang Hyun Choi | Molecular mechanism of metabolic diseases/drug development |
| Jiyoung Park | Obesity-related metabolic diseases and cancers/develop therapeutics |
| Haejin Yoon | Cellular energy metabolism, Metabolic signaling in human physiology and metabolic disease |
Microbiology
Microbiology research at UNIST explores interactions between different microorganisms as well as their interactions with humans, with the overarching goal being to define their impact on mankind. Key research work currently encompasses both chemical and living antibiotics and their activities against multidrug-resistant pathogenic bacterial strains.
| PROFESSOR | KEYWORD |
|---|---|
| Robert J. Mitchell | Combating multidrug-resistant pathogens and their related diseases using predatory bacteria and secondary metabolites; Work also includes polar (arctic/Antarctic) microbes and evaluating microbial responses to microgravity conditions |
Molecular Cell Biology
This field of biology studies diverse and dynamic cell processes, such as cell structure and gene expression, signaling, protein targeting, parcel traffic, intercellular communication and the molecular manipulation of disease.
| PROFESSOR | KEYWORD |
|---|---|
| Chan Young Park | Calcium signaling, coronavirus and host cell interactions |
| Pann-Ghill Suh | Signal transduction in brain disease and cancer |
Neuroscience
Neurobiology is a major field of research in modern medical life sciences, trying to understand the structure and function of the major genes that make up the neural network, the interaction between components, and the fundamental principles of regulating their activities. Utilizing the knowledge gained through this process, we seek to solve important biological questions and problems, such as the processes involved in nerve cell development, understanding high-level brain activities achieved through the actions of neural circuits, and address various neurological diseases.
| PROFESSOR | KEYWORD |
|---|---|
| Jae-Ick Kim | Neural circuit/Neurodegenerative disease |
| Chunghun Lim | Molecular and cellular neuroscience; neurological disorders |
Structural biology
Structural biology is a field of research that identifies and analyzes the three-dimensional structure of proteins and understands life phenomena at molecular level. Structural biology uses X-ray protein crystallography, protein biochemistry, molecular biology, and so on as the main research methods. It can be said that the three-dimensional structure of proteins is of great importance not only because it identifies the molecular warfare of life phenomena, but also because it identifies the necessary molecular structures needed for the development of new drugs.
| PROFESSOR | KEYWORD |
|---|---|
| Changwook Lee | Structural study for molecular trafficking and drug development |
