Research labs at Korea's QS Top 10 universities including SNU, KAIST, and Yonsei.
Professor Sung-Hyun Cho's research lab specializes in image and video restoration, with a strong focus on deblurring techniques for real-world visual data. The lab develops advanced computational methods to address challenges in non-uniform and spatially varying blur, particularly in single-image and video deblurring under camera shake or complex imaging conditions. Key research directions include robust kernel estimation, outlier modeling in blur processes, and efficient optimization for real-time performance. The lab also explores applications in medical imaging and patient safety, linking image quality to clinical outcomes.
Professor Sang Hyun Seo's research lab specializes in cerebrovascular interventions and endovascular neurosurgery, with a focus on the diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes of intracranial aneurysms and cerebral vascular diseases. The lab investigates endovascular techniques such as stent-assisted coil embolization and stent-within-a-stent procedures for complex aneurysms, particularly in challenging cases like ruptured vertebrobasilar dissecting aneurysms. It also explores imaging-based assessment of reperfusion and aneurysm morphology, emphasizing interobserver variability and diagnostic accuracy in cerebral angiography and CT/MR angiography.
Professor Jihun No's research lab focuses on the neuropathological mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Alzheimer’s disease and vascular cognitive impairment. The lab investigates the bidirectional relationship between sleep-wake cycle disruption and amyloid-beta pathology, with a special emphasis on the role of orexin neurons and circadian rhythms in disease progression. Additionally, the lab explores neuroimaging biomarkers such as cortical thickness and cortical laminar necrosis to understand structural brain changes associated with dementia and metabolic encephalopathies.
Professor Sung Kim's research lab specializes in translational oncology with a focus on early gastric cancer (EGC) and advanced gastric cancer (GC). The lab investigates prognostic biomarkers, including gene expression profiles and salivary exRNA, to improve risk stratification and non-invasive detection. Key research directions include identifying molecular and pathological predictors of lymph node metastasis, evaluating treatment outcomes following endoscopic resection versus surgery, and developing clinical algorithms to guide personalized therapy. The lab also emphasizes patient-reported outcomes and quality of life in post-surgical recovery, integrating clinical, molecular, and functional perspectives.
Professor Hak-Joon Kim's research lab specializes in molecular and translational biomedical research, focusing on tissue regeneration, particularly in tendon and bone healing. The lab investigates growth factors such as BMP-2, TGF-β, and IGF-II, and their roles in modulating signaling pathways like Src-ERK1/2 and PI3K in angiogenesis and tissue repair. Utilizing animal models and biomaterial carriers like fibrin glue, the lab explores innovative strategies to enhance healing at the bone-tendon junction and other musculoskeletal interfaces. The work also extends to clinical applications, including the evaluation of biomaterial safety and the mechanisms of soft tissue repair.
Professor Jinho Lee's research lab specializes in advanced display technologies, graph processing architectures, and biomedical engineering, with a strong focus on innovative solutions for immersive 3D visualization, high-performance computing, and genetic disorders. The lab develops cutting-edge 3D display systems using multi-projector and light-field technologies for applications in automotive and human-centered interfaces, while also pioneering near-storage computing frameworks like ExtraV to accelerate graph analytics. In biomedical research, the lab investigates the genetic basis of peripheral neuropathies, such as Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, through exome sequencing and functional analysis. The lab integrates hardware-software co-design, physical modeling, and data-driven methods to address complex challenges in imaging, computing, and human health.
Professor Jeong-Mi Oh's research lab specializes in pharmacogenomics and pharmacoepigenetics, focusing on how genetic and epigenetic variations influence individual drug response. The lab investigates epigenetic mechanisms—such as DNA methylation and histone modification—that regulate drug-metabolizing enzymes and transporters, particularly cytochrome P450 enzymes. It also develops machine learning models for quantitative prediction of pharmacokinetic drug-drug interactions, supported by a comprehensive, FDA label-derived database. Additionally, the lab explores clinical associations between chronic inflammatory conditions like atopic diseases and anemia, integrating real-world health data for population-level insights.
Professor Sung Soo Jeon's research lab specializes in urological oncology and minimally invasive urological surgery, with a focus on improving treatment outcomes for urothelial cancers and urinary stones. The lab investigates molecular mechanisms of cancer resistance, such as in bladder cancer, and evaluates the impact of diagnostic and therapeutic interventions—like ureterorenoscopy and endoscopic lithotripsy—on long-term patient outcomes. Research also extends to optimizing surgical techniques, including ureteral stent length selection and robotic-assisted surgery, to enhance postoperative recovery and quality of life.
Professor Wonbin Hong's research lab specializes in advanced antenna technologies for next-generation wireless communication systems, with a strong focus on millimeter-wave (mmWave) and sub-THz antennas for 5G and beyond. The lab pioneers innovative, compact, and high-performance phased-array solutions tailored for mobile and wearable devices, emphasizing integration with real-world hardware and system-level performance. Key research directions include reconfigurable antennas, transparent and invisible antennas using OLED displays, and electrically small, low-profile designs for compact electronics. The lab emphasizes practical implementation, from theoretical design to prototype fabrication and real-world measurement validation.
Professor Hwanjo Yu's research lab specializes in scalable and privacy-preserving machine learning, with a strong focus on support vector machines (SVMs) and their applications in large-scale data mining and Web mining. The lab explores innovative methods such as clustering-based SVMs, positive example-based learning (PEBL), and privacy-preserving knowledge discovery to address challenges in data efficiency, scalability, and security. A key research direction involves developing active learning and selective sampling techniques for ranking functions, particularly in information retrieval contexts. The lab also emphasizes practical solutions for real-world data mining problems under constraints of data privacy and limited labeled examples.
Professor Han Suk Ryu's research lab specializes in translational cancer metabolism and precision oncology, focusing on the role of metabolic regulators like nicotinamide (NAM) in cancer prevention and therapy. The lab integrates multi-omics approaches, mass spectrometry-based proteomics, and artificial intelligence to identify biomarkers and develop objective diagnostic tools for urological and gastrointestinal cancers. Key research directions include understanding the metabolic reprogramming in triple-negative breast cancer, improving pathological diagnosis through automated Gleason scoring, and discovering liquid biopsy markers for non-invasive cancer detection.
Professor Mi-Yoon Chang's research lab focuses on neural development, neurodegenerative diseases, and stem cell-based therapies, with a particular emphasis on Parkinson’s disease and dopaminergic neuron regeneration. The lab investigates human pluripotent stem cells—both embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells—to understand and direct the differentiation of midbrain dopamine neurons for potential cell replacement therapies. Additionally, the lab explores glial cell contributions to neuroinflammation and identifies novel therapeutic targets, such as SGK1, to modulate glial reactivity in neurodegenerative conditions. The use of brain organoids and in vitro models further enables the study of human-specific neurodevelopmental and pathological processes.
Professor Myung Hee Kim's research lab focuses on structural biology and molecular mechanisms underlying redox regulation, immune homeostasis, and metabolic diseases. The lab investigates the structural and functional roles of key regulatory proteins such as thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP), aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases in host-microbe interactions, and the NDRG family in cancer suppression. Using X-ray crystallography and biochemical approaches, the lab uncovers novel mechanisms of protein-protein interactions, redox signaling, and enzyme regulation, with translational implications in cancer, inflammation, and host-microbe crosstalk.
Professor Sun Choi's research lab specializes in computational and systems biology-driven drug discovery, with a focus on rational design of therapeutics targeting cancer, metabolic disorders, and neurological diseases. The lab integrates molecular dynamics simulations, machine learning, and big data analytics to investigate protein-ligand interactions, epigenetic regulation, and the mechanisms of drug action. A key emphasis is on developing innovative nanotheranostic platforms and identifying novel drug candidates through in silico screening and structure-based design. The lab also explores the therapeutic potential of natural compounds like capsaicin and epigenetic modulators such as DNMT inhibitors.
Professor Joongmyeon Bae's research lab specializes in the development of advanced functional materials for clean energy applications, with a primary focus on solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) and related electrochemical devices. The lab investigates layered perovskite oxides, such as samarium and strontium-doped cobaltites, to optimize cathode materials for intermediate-temperature operation, emphasizing low area-specific resistance and high electrical conductivity. Key research directions include nanostructured oxide synthesis, interface engineering in composite cathodes, and the integration of ionic conductors like gadolinia-doped ceria to enhance performance. The lab also explores fundamental electrochemical properties to enable efficient, durable, and cost-effective energy conversion technologies.
Professor Jeehyeong Khim's research lab specializes in the design and synthesis of advanced functional nanomaterials, with a focus on mesoporous and core–shell structured materials for environmental and energy applications. The lab primarily investigates sonocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants using tailored TiO₂-based composites, emphasizing high efficiency, stability, and recyclability. Key research directions include the development of magnetic mesoporous oxides and carbon–titania hybrids through controlled synthesis methods such as evaporation-induced co-assembly.
Professor Miso Kim's research lab focuses on translational oncology, with a primary emphasis on identifying predictive biomarkers and optimizing immunotherapy and targeted therapy in various cancers. The lab investigates the tumor immune microenvironment, particularly the interplay between PD-L1 expression and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, to improve patient stratification for immune checkpoint inhibitors. Additionally, the lab explores novel therapeutic strategies in rare and aggressive malignancies such as alveolar soft part sarcoma, adenoid cystic carcinoma of the breast, and non-small cell lung cancer, with a strong emphasis on prognostic factors like thrombocytosis. Their work bridges genomics, clinical outcomes, and personalized treatment approaches.
Professor Jaeseong Shim's research lab focuses on respiratory immunology and pulmonary disease mechanisms, with a particular emphasis on airway inflammation, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and asthma. The lab investigates key molecular pathways involved in mucus hypersecretion, epithelial remodeling, and immune cell interactions—especially the roles of EGFR signaling, Th2 cytokines, and neutrophils in airway pathology. Additional research explores the tumor microenvironment in cancer immunology, particularly the interplay between COX-2, PGE2, IDO, and regulatory T cells in immune tolerance. The lab also examines clinical biomarkers such as eosinophils in acute exacerbations of COPD and the impact of socioeconomic factors on COPD outcomes.
Professor Sang Joon Park's research lab specializes in advancing precision oncology through the development and application of novel biomarkers and artificial intelligence in medical imaging and genomics. The lab focuses on identifying and validating liquid biopsy markers—such as AFP-L3, PIVKA-II, and cell-free DNA—for hepatocellular carcinoma, as well as exploring radiomic and deep learning-based approaches for improved diagnosis and prognosis in lung and liver cancers. A key direction involves leveraging self-supervised and knowledge distillation techniques in vision transformers to enhance AI performance in low-resource medical imaging settings, particularly for diseases like COVID-19 and cancer.
Professor Sangho Lee's research lab focuses on molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying physiological and pathological processes, with key interests in protein conformational dynamics at interfaces, stress-induced reproductive toxicity, and the role of cellular machinery such as the ESCRT complex in intracellular trafficking and protein degradation. The lab also investigates systemic responses to disease models, including sepsis-induced hepatic dysfunction and genetic factors in endocrine disorders like hypoparathyroidism. Their work combines biochemical, molecular, and in vivo approaches to understand disease mechanisms and identify potential therapeutic targets.
