Lecturer (equivalent to Assistant Professor)
Sydney Horizon Fellow
NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow

Education

2020 Ph.D. Department of Biotechnology, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea (Advisor: Prof. Seung-Woo Cho)
2013 B. S. Department of Biology, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea

Awards and Prizes

2024 MIT Technology Review, Innovators Under 35 (TR35) Asia Pacific

2024 Australian Museum Eureka Finalist, Outstanding Early Career Researcher
2021 BRIC Hanbitsa ‘People who brought honor to Korea’
2019 Best organoid data award. 2nd Place. The 2nd Annual meeting of Korean organoid society
2019 Best Research Award. BK21 PLUS Initiative for Biological Function & Systems Symposium
2018 Best Poster award. The 1st International Annual Meeting of Korean Organoid Society
2018 Best Research Award. BK21 PLUS Initiative for Biological Function & Systems Symposium
2017 Best Poster award. Annual meeting of Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry
2017 Best Poster presentation award. Annual meeting of Korean Society for Stem Cell Research
2016 Best Research Award. BK21 PLUS Initiative for Biological Function & Systems Symposium

with a focus on developing human brain organoids - laboratory models that mimic human brain physiology.

We are pioneering the development of a human brain micro-physiology system in vitro, combining brain organoids with innovative biomedical engineering tools, including 3D brain-mimetic biomaterials and organ-on-a-chip technologies.

Our goal is to generate a humanized blood-brain-inflammatory model in a dish for personalized disease modeling and therapeutic screening. I lead a team that uses cutting-edge tissue engineering and stem cell biology to create complex human brain tissue, incorporating not only neural cells but also the vasculature and immune system. This advanced, humanized brain model will enable in-depth studies of the interactions between the brain, blood vessels, and the immune system, opening new avenues for understanding brain function and developing personalized treatments.

Research Interest: Human Brain Organoid-on-Chip, Neural Circuit, Schizophrenia Modelling

Research Interest: Human Brain Micro-physiological Platform for Virus Infection Modelling and Treatment Screening​

Research Interest: Human region-specifc brain organoids

Research Interest: Vascularised brain-on-chip, Childhood dementia

Research Interest: Investigation of Plasma Treated Surface Biofunctionalization for Enhanced Human Neuronal Cell Maturation and Functionality

Research Interest: Mechanotransduction and Aging in humanised brain model

Research Interest: Developing 3D Synthetic Matrix to Investigate Extracellular Matrix, Neuroinflammation Modelling

Research Interest: Neuroinflammatory system-on-chip

Research Interest: In Vitro Retinal Organoid for Drug Repurposing

Research Interest: In vitro Retinal/Optical Model for Disease Modelling and Mechanism/Therapeutics Study

Research Interest: Drug re-purposing using human organoids

Research Interest: Neurodegenerative disease, protein engineering, and materials science

Research Interest: Bioinformatics, in silico modeling, organ-on-a-chip technology, and developing 3D matrix structures to study mechanotransduction