Research Interests
Keywords: Hi-C, Chromatin architecture, Neuropsychiatric disorders, Substance use disorder, Functional Genomics, Massively parallel reporter assay
We try to bridge the gap between genetic risk factors for psychiatric illnesses and neurobiological mechanisms by decoding the regulatory relationships of the non-coding genome. In particular, we implement Hi-C, a genome-wide chromosome conformation capture technique, to identify the folding principle of the genome in human brain. We then leverage this information to identify the functional impacts of the common variants associated with neuropsychiatric disorders.
Training Program Affiliations:
- Bioinformatics and Computational Biology
- Genetics and Molecular Biology
- Neuroscience
- Pharmacology
Publications
Hyejung Won in UNC Genetics News
September 14, 2025
Department of Genetics Publications for August 2025
Department of Genetics faculty, postdocs, students and collaborators published 25 papers in August 2025.
September 9, 2025
New Grants Awarded to Perou and Won
New Grants Awarded to Dr. Chuck Perou (Distinguished Professor, Genetics) and Dr. Hyejung Won (Associate Professor, Genetics).
August 8, 2025
Department of Genetics Publications for June 29th – August 2nd, 2025
Department of Genetics faculty, postdocs, students and collaborators published 39 papers during June 29th - August 2nd 2025.
July 18, 2025
Won Awarded 2025 Neurobiology of Brain Disorders Award
Hyejung Won (Associate Professor of Genetics) Awarded 2025 Neurobiology of Brain Disorders Award.
April 20, 2025
Department of Genetics Publications for March 2nd – 29th, 2025
Department of Genetics faculty, postdocs, students and collaborators published 30 papers during March 2nd - 29th 2025.
March 20, 2025
Hyejung Won Awarded New Seed Grant from the ALS Association
Dr. Hyejung Won (Associate Professor, Genetics) was awarded a seed grant from the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association for her project titled “Deciphering higher-order chromatin mechanisms for C9orf72-mediated ALS”.
February 6, 2025
Department of Genetics Publications for January 19th – February 1st, 2025
Department of Genetics faculty, postdocs, students and collaborators published 17 papers during January 19th - February 1st 2025.
January 23, 2025
Eight Psychiatric Disorders Share the Same Genetic Causes, Study Says
Building off previous groundbreaking research, a new study identifies specific genetic variants that have significant impacts on brain development and are shared across eight different psychiatric disorders. Targeting these variants could pave the way for treatments that address multiple conditions at once.
December 16, 2024
Department of Genetics Publications for November 24th – December 7th, 2024
Department of Genetics faculty, postdocs, students and collaborators published 17 papers during November 24th - December 7th, 2024.
June 10, 2024
Department of Genetics Publications for May 12th – June 8th, 2024
Department of Genetics faculty, postdocs, students and collaborators published 23 papers during May 12th - June 8th 2024.
