Cellular Death & Stress Responses

BIOGRAPHY

ACADEMIC POSITIONS:
• 2003-present: Professor, Graduate School of Biotechnology, Korea University, Seoul, Korea
• 1997-present : Director of the National Creative Research Initiative Center for Cell Death, Korea University, Seoul, Korea

EDUCATION:
• Doctor: Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Division of Medical Sciences, Harvard University, USA
• Master: Department of Biological Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Korea
• Bachelor: School of Pharmacy, Seoul National University, Korea

RESEARCH INTERESTS:
One of the most intriguing questions in life science is to define a molecular mechanism(s) for cell growth and death. In particular, programmed cell death is dependent on an evolutionarily conserved pathway that induces a form of cellular suicide known as apoptosis. Perturbation of the signaling cascades regulating apoptosis can result in a variety of human diseases including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, stroke, AIDS, autoimmune diseases, and cancer. Our primary research interests include to investigate the molecular mechanism for cell death. Elucidation of the signaling pathway that mediates cell death will be important not only for understanding the biochemical basis of cell death, but also for providing us a new insight into preventing many human diseases in which cell death plays a crucial role. Our laboratory has been designated as the National Creative Research Initiative Center for Cell Death by the Korean Ministry of Science and Technology since 1997.