Explore research labs at leading universities worldwide — research fields and key papers at a glance.
Professor Ho-Keun Kwon's research lab focuses on immunomodulation through probiotics and natural plant extracts, with a central emphasis on regulatory T cells (Tregs) and dendritic cell-mediated immune tolerance. The lab investigates how specific probiotic mixtures and cinnamon extracts can induce regulatory immune cells, suppress pro-inflammatory responses, and exert anti-tumor and anti-inflammatory effects both in vitro and in vivo. Key research directions include the molecular mechanisms of Foxp3+ Treg induction, the role of regulatory dendritic cells, and the therapeutic potential of natural compounds in autoimmune diseases and cancer.
Professor Jeongmi Lee's research lab specializes in green and sustainable extraction technologies for natural products, with a focus on optimizing extraction processes for pharmaceutical and biochemical applications. The lab investigates novel metabolic pathways in microorganisms, particularly alternative polyamine biosynthesis in pathogens like *Vibrio cholerae*, and explores the enzymatic mechanisms of beta/alpha-barrel fold decarboxylases in diverse bacteria. Additionally, the lab conducts metabolomic and antioxidant profiling of natural products—such as green tea—under varying preparation conditions to understand how processing parameters influence bioactive compound profiles and functional properties.
Professor Sungwoo Bae's research lab specializes in power electronics, renewable energy integration, and electric vehicle charging systems. The lab focuses on developing advanced power conversion systems, including high-efficiency dc-dc converters, pulse generators, and microgrid control strategies, to enable sustainable energy solutions. Key research directions include modeling and forecasting electric vehicle charging demand, optimizing battery cell balancing for energy storage, and enhancing the performance of hybrid renewable energy systems such as wind-solar hybrids. The lab emphasizes practical applications in smart grids, sustainable transportation, and energy-efficient power electronics.
Professor Chirag B. Godiya's research lab specializes in the development of sustainable, bio-based materials for environmental remediation, with a focus on advanced adsorbents and nanocatalysts for water purification. The lab pioneers functionalized hydrogels, chitosan and wood-derived composites, and graphene-based macrostructures to remove heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, dyes, and persistent pollutants like PFAS from industrial and municipal wastewater. A key research direction involves cascaded treatment strategies—combining adsorption with in-situ catalytic conversion or regeneration—enabling resource recovery and reduced secondary waste. The lab emphasizes green synthesis, recyclability, and real-world applicability of materials derived from natural polymers and biomass.
Professor Jun Terao's research lab specializes in the development of transition metal-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions, with a focus on nickel- and copper-catalyzed transformations for efficient carbon-carbon bond formation. The lab pioneers novel methodologies using earth-abundant metals, particularly Ni and Cu, to enable challenging alkyl-alkyl and alkyl-aryl couplings under mild conditions, often employing unconventional additives like dienes and tetraenes to enhance reactivity and selectivity. A key direction involves expanding the scope of cross-coupling to include less reactive substrates such as alkyl fluorides, mesylates, and tosylates, while also exploring the design of π-conjugated polymers with enhanced charge transport properties through strategic molecular engineering. The lab emphasizes mechanistic understanding and practical applications in synthetic organic chemistry and materials science.
Professor Xuan Song's research lab specializes in disaster resilience and human mobility modeling, focusing on leveraging big data and artificial intelligence to understand and predict human behavior during natural disasters. The lab integrates GPS trajectory data, remote sensing imagery, and deep learning techniques to advance landslide susceptibility mapping, emergency evacuation pattern analysis, and urban transportation simulation. Key research directions include intelligent disaster response systems, large-scale human mobility prediction, and AI-driven infrastructure monitoring, particularly in the context of earthquakes and nuclear accidents in Japan. The lab also develops advanced deep learning models for industrial applications such as steel surface defect detection.
Professor Alok Sharma's research lab specializes in computational biology and bioinformatics, focusing on leveraging deep learning and machine learning to decode complex biological data. The lab develops innovative computational frameworks—such as DeepInsight and OPTICAL—that transform genomic and neurophysiological data into structured formats amenable to analysis by convolutional and recurrent neural networks. Their work bridges omics data integration, brain-computer interface development, and microbial metabolite discovery, emphasizing real-time, accurate classification and predictive modeling. The lab’s interdisciplinary approach integrates computational neuroscience, systems biology, and bioprospecting for agricultural biotechnology.
Professor Shintaro Yagi's research lab specializes in liver transplantation and graft regeneration, with a focus on hemodynamic factors, portal venous pressure, and graft function in living-donor liver transplantation (LDLT). The lab investigates the impact of portal hypertension, graft volume, and donor age on post-transplant outcomes, particularly in pediatric and adult recipients. Key research directions include optimizing graft size through graft-to-recipient weight ratio (GRWR), understanding growth factor dynamics (e.g., HGF, VEGF), and improving long-term survival through hemodynamic and physiological monitoring. The lab also explores prognostic factors in reduced and hyper-reduced left lateral segment grafts, especially in pediatric patients.
Professor Yohei Yamaguchi's research lab specializes in urban-scale energy systems and building energy modeling, with a focus on decarbonizing commercial and residential building stocks through advanced simulation and spatial analysis. The lab develops innovative hybrid models—integrating GIS, physical-based building energy simulations, and stochastic behavioral modeling—to quantify energy demand, photovoltaic potential, and mitigation potential across multiple spatial and temporal scales. Key research directions include building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), occupant behavior modeling, and urban-scale energy and climate impact assessment. The lab emphasizes data-driven, high-resolution modeling to support urban planning and policy-making for carbon neutrality and sustainable infrastructure.
Professor Shin Sugiyama's research lab specializes in glaciology and cryospheric sciences, focusing on the dynamics of glaciers and ice caps in response to climate change. The lab investigates ice-ocean and ice-lake interactions, particularly in high-latitude and high-altitude regions such as Greenland, the Alps, and the Southern Patagonia Icefield. Key research directions include calving processes, basal hydrology, ice flow variability, and mass balance changes in response to surface melt and subglacial water pressure. The lab combines field observations, satellite remote sensing, and geophysical measurements to understand the mechanisms driving rapid glacier retreat and thinning.
Professor In-Bok Lee's research lab specializes in sustainable building environments and energy-efficient systems, with a focus on natural ventilation in agricultural buildings and energy management in building-integrated greenhouses. The lab employs advanced computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and dynamic energy simulation models to optimize indoor air quality, thermal comfort, and energy performance under real-world weather conditions. Research also emphasizes experimental validation using wind tunnel tests and particle image velocimetry (PIV) to ensure model accuracy and reliability. The ultimate goal is to develop intelligent, energy-smart environmental control systems for agricultural and building applications.
Professor Incheol Choi's research lab specializes in cross-cultural psychology, focusing on how cultural differences shape cognitive processes such as attribution, reasoning, and self-construal. The lab investigates the contrast between analytic (Western) and holistic (East Asian) thinking patterns, particularly in how individuals interpret behavior, manage contradictions, and form self-concepts. Key research directions include the correspondence bias, causal attribution, dialectical thinking, and the role of situational context in shaping perception and judgment across cultures.
Professor Yun-Hee Lee's research lab focuses on the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying adipose tissue plasticity, with a particular emphasis on brown and white adipocyte differentiation, macrophage-adipocyte crosstalk, and metabolic regulation. The lab investigates how environmental cues such as cold stress and bioactive compounds like EGCG influence adipogenesis, autophagy, and mitochondrial function in adipose tissues. Key areas of interest include the role of microRNAs, Beclin1 in lipid and mitochondrial homeostasis, and the impact of environmental toxins like benzalkonium chloride on metabolic and lung epithelial cells. The lab aims to uncover novel therapeutic targets for metabolic diseases such as obesity and insulin resistance.
Professor Chi Young Shim's research lab focuses on cardiovascular pathophysiology, particularly the mechanisms underlying heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. The lab investigates hemodynamic responses during exercise, such as exercise-induced pulmonary hypertension and left ventricular filling pressure dynamics, to identify prognostic markers and pathophysiological pathways. It also explores molecular mechanisms involving receptors like RAGE and platelet-endothelial interactions in vascular inflammation and early atherosclerosis. Recent work includes clinical trials evaluating cardioprotective effects of SGLT2 inhibitors like dapagliflozin on left ventricular diastolic function in diabetic patients.
Professor Jun Yong Park's research lab specializes in hepatology and viral hepatitis, with a strong focus on chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The lab investigates host-virus interactions, non-invasive fibrosis assessment using elastography, and the dynamic virological and serological responses to antiviral therapy. Key research directions include optimizing treatment strategies through biomarkers such as quantitative HBsAg and HBeAg, and evaluating innovative locoregional therapies like hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) for advanced HCC.
Professor Myeongkyu Lee's research lab specializes in advanced optical materials and nanofabrication, focusing on tunable structural colors, plasmonic color printing, and laser-induced nanostructuring for applications in photonics, energy conversion, and thermal management. The lab develops scalable, lithography-free techniques—such as laser printing and pulsed laser irradiation—to engineer functional surfaces with precise control over optical and thermal properties. Key research directions include designing metal–insulator–metal (MIM) cavities for vibrant, non-fading colors and creating phase-change materials for dynamic thermal emission control. The lab also applies X-ray diffraction and materials characterization to understand and optimize nanostructured materials for solar cells and other optoelectronic devices.
Professor Seokhwan Hwang's research lab specializes in molecular microbial ecology and environmental biotechnology, focusing on the detection, quantification, and characterization of key microbial communities in anaerobic processes. The lab employs advanced molecular techniques such as TaqMan quantitative real-time PCR to study methanogens and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria at various taxonomic levels, particularly in waste treatment systems. Their work emphasizes the development of group-specific primer and probe sets for precise monitoring of microbial populations in environmental and engineered systems, including anaerobic digesters and swine wastewater treatment reactors. The lab’s research contributes significantly to understanding microbial community dynamics and improving the efficiency of biological wastewater and waste treatment processes.
Professor Seoung Bum Kim's research lab specializes in advanced data analytics and machine learning applications in health sciences, chemistry, and pharmaceutical innovation. The lab focuses on developing statistical and computational methods for feature selection, multivariate process monitoring, and intelligent molecular design. Key research directions include the integration of nonparametric statistical techniques like the bootstrap with multivariate control charts, the application of association rule mining and network analysis to traditional medical texts, and the use of deep generative models—particularly generative adversarial networks with reinforcement learning—for de novo drug design. The lab also works on grounding heuristic methods like the Mahalanobis-Taguchi System in rigorous statistical theory to enhance their reliability and interpretability.
Professor Kyu-Sung Lee's research lab specializes in urological disorders, with a focus on lower urinary tract symptoms, including overactive bladder (OAB), underactive bladder (DUA), and stress urinary incontinence. The lab investigates innovative surgical and medical therapies, such as mid-urethral slings and combination pharmacotherapies, while also pioneering bio-integrated electronic systems that mimic the dynamic behavior of the urinary bladder. Their work bridges clinical urology with advanced biomedical engineering, particularly in developing implantable, conformal electronic devices for real-time bladder monitoring and functional restoration.
Professor Gee Young Suh's research lab specializes in molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying inflammatory responses, with a particular focus on the regulation of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and the anti-inflammatory effects of carbon monoxide (CO). The lab investigates how endogenous and exogenous CO modulate immune cell signaling, especially in macrophages, using in vitro models such as RAW 264.7 cells. Key research directions include the signaling pathways involved in LPS-induced COX-2 expression and the role of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) in mediating protective responses against inflammation. The lab also explores the therapeutic potential of CO-releasing molecules in inflammatory diseases.
