Education and Training:
Seoul National University, BS
Stanford University, PhD
Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Postdoc
Areas of Interest:
Our overarching goal is to understand how proteolytic switches are designed and actuated to induce rapid changes in cell morphology, behavior, and identity. We combine chemical biology, proteomics/genomics, and zebrafish models. We are also interested in the aberrant (de)activation of developmental proteases in aging and age-related diseases. Ultimately, we want to identify a combination of protease inhibitors/activators that can modulate cell fate or cure diseases – i.e., Yamanaka factors in the form of protease-activity modulating chemicals.
Awards and Honors:
2023-25 K01 Mentored Research Scientist Career Development Award, NIH
2021 Travel Award for Frontiers in Myogenesis 2021, Society for Muscle Biology
2021 Career Advancement Award, Salk Institute
2021 Best Proposal Award, Salk Institute
2019 Trainee Showcase Talk Award, Salk Institute
2018-19 Glenn Foundation for Medical Research Postdoctoral Fellowship, AFAR
2014 ChEM-H Seed Grant, Stanford University
2014 Travel Grant for EMBO Chemical Biology 2014, Stanford University
2010-15 Samsung Predoctoral Fellowship, Samsung
2009 KFAS Predoctoral Scholarship, Korea Foundation of Advanced Studies (gratefully declined)
2010 Summa Cum Laude, Seoul National University
2005-10 Presidential Scholarship, President of Korea
2005 Samsung Human-Tech Thesis Prize, Samsung