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Han Min Woo

Sungkyunkwan University · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

About the Lab

Professor Han Min Woo's research lab specializes in synthetic biology and metabolic engineering of cyanobacteria to develop biosolar cell factories for sustainable production of high-value chemicals from CO₂ and sunlight. The lab focuses on engineering photosynthetic microbes to convert carbon dioxide directly into isoprenoids, biofuels, and other industrially relevant compounds through advanced genetic tools and pathway optimization. Key innovations include the development of CRISPRi systems, synthetic gene expression platforms (e.g., SyneBrick vectors), and metabolic pathways for efficient biosynthesis. The lab's work aims to address global challenges in climate change, energy security, and sustainable chemical production.

cyanobacteriametabolic engineeringCO2 fixationbiosolar cellsynthetic biology

Research Overview

Papers
208
Total Citations
4,058
Papers (5y)
22
Primary Field
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Research Output Trend

Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.

Publications per year (5y)
22total
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
Citations per year (5y)
305total
20212022202320242025

Selected Papers

15
1
Article|180 citations·2008
Mass spectrometry based metabolomic approaches in urinary biomarker study of women's cancers
Han Min Woo, Kyung Mi Kim, Man Ho Choi, Byung Hwa Jung, Jeongae Lee, Gu Kong, Seok Jin Nam, Sunghoon Kim, Sang Wook Bai, Bong Chul Chung
SJR Q1Clinica Chimica ActaOA
Molecular BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
2
Article|95 citations·2016
Photosynthetic conversion of CO2 to farnesyl diphosphate-derived phytochemicals (amorpha-4,11-diene and squalene) by engineered cyanobacteria
Sun Young Choi, Hyun Jeong Lee, Jae‐Yeon Choi, Jiye Kim, Sang Jun Sim, Youngsoon Um, Yunje Kim, Taek Soon Lee, Jay D. Keasling, Han Min Woo
Biotechnology for BiofuelsOA

This is the first demonstration of photosynthetic production of amorpha-4,11-diene from CO2 in cyanobacteria and production of squalene in S. elongatus PCC 7942. Our optimized modular OverMEP strain (SeHL33) with either co-expression of ADS or SQS demonstrated the highest production levels of amorpha-4,11-diene and squalene, which could expand the list of farnesyl diphosphate-derived isoprenoids from CO2 as bio-solar cell factories.

Molecular BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
3
Article|79 citations·2015
Microbial Synthesis of Myrcene by Metabolically Engineered Escherichia coli
Eun‐Mi Kim, Jinhee Eom, Youngsoon Um, Yunje Kim, Han Min Woo
SJR Q1Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry

Myrcene, a monoterpene (C10), has gathered attention as a starting material for high-value compounds, such as geraniol/linalool and (-)-menthol. Metabolic engineering has been successfully applied to produce monoterpenes, such as pinene and limonene, at high levels in microbial hosts. However, microbial synthesis of myrcene has not yet been reported. Thus, we metabolically engineered Escherichia coli for production of myrcene by introducing a heterologous mevalonate pathway and overexpressing ta

Molecular BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
4
Article|78 citations·2014
Biosynthesis of pinene from glucose using metabolically-engineered Corynebacterium glutamicum
Min‐Kyoung Kang, Jinhee Eom, Yunje Kim, Youngsoon Um, Han Min Woo
SJR Q2Biotechnology Letters
Molecular BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
5
Review|77 citations·2017
Solar-to-chemical and solar-to-fuel production from CO2 by metabolically engineered microorganisms
Han Min Woo
SJR Q1Current Opinion in Biotechnology
Molecular BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
6
Article|72 citations·2020
CRISPRi-dCas12a: A dCas12a-Mediated CRISPR Interference for Repression of Multiple Genes and Metabolic Engineering in Cyanobacteria
Sun Young Choi, Han Min Woo
SJR Q1ACS Synthetic Biology

In cyanobacteria, metabolic engineering using synthetic biology tools is limited to build a biosolar cell factory that converts CO<sub>2</sub> to value-added chemicals, as repression of essential genes has not been achieved. In this study, we developed a dCas12a-mediated CRISPR interference system (CRISPRi-dCas12a) in cyanobacteria that effectively blocked the transcriptional initiation by means of a CRISPR-RNA (crRNA) and 19-nt direct repeat, resulting in 53-94% gene repression. The repression

Molecular BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
7
Article|68 citations·2017
Development of SyneBrick Vectors As a Synthetic Biology Platform for Gene Expression in Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942
Wook Jin Kim, Sun‐Mi Lee, Youngsoon Um, Sang Jun Sim, Han Min Woo
SJR Q1Frontiers in Plant ScienceOA

Cyanobacteria are oxygenic photosynthetic prokaryotes that are able to assimilate CO<sub>2</sub> using solar energy and water. Metabolic engineering of cyanobacteria has suggested the possibility of direct CO<sub>2</sub> conversion to value-added chemicals. However, engineering of cyanobacteria has been limited due to the lack of various genetic tools for expression and control of multiple genes to reconstruct metabolic pathways for biochemicals from CO<sub>2</sub>. Thus, we developed SyneBrick

Molecular BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
8
Article|67 citations·2016
Engineering of a modular and synthetic phosphoketolase pathway for photosynthetic production of acetone from CO2 in Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 under light and aerobic condition
Jun‐Won Chwa, Wook Jin Kim, Sang Jun Sim, Youngsoon Um, Han Min Woo
SJR Q1Plant Biotechnology JournalOA

Capture and conversion of CO2 to valuable chemicals is intended to answer global challenges on environmental issues, climate change and energy security. Engineered cyanobacteria have been enabled to produce industry-relevant chemicals from CO2 . However, the final products from cyanobacteria have often been mixed with fermented metabolites during dark fermentation. In this study, our engineering of Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 enabled continuous conversion of CO2 to volatile acetone as sole

Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the EnvironmentEnergy
9
Article|66 citations·2017
Direct Conversion of CO2 to α-Farnesene Using Metabolically Engineered Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942
Hyun Jeong Lee, Jiwon Lee, Sun‐Mi Lee, Youngsoon Um, Yunje Kim, Sang Jun Sim, Jong‐Il Choi, Han Min Woo
SJR Q1Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry

High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Direct conversion of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) to value-added chemicals by engineering of cyanobacteria has received attention as a sustainable strategy in food and chemical industries. Herein, Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942, a model cyanobacterium, was engineered to produce α-farnesene from CO 2 . As a result of the lack of farnesene synthase (FS) activity in the wild-type cyanobacterium, we metabolically engineered S. elongatus PCC 7942 to expr

Molecular BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
10
Article|66 citations·2014
Synthetic biology platform of CoryneBrick vectors for gene expression in Corynebacterium glutamicum and its application to xylose utilization
Min‐Kyoung Kang, Jungseok Lee, Youngsoon Um, Taek Soon Lee, Michael Bott, Si Jae Park, Han Min Woo
SJR Q1Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology
Molecular BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
11
Article|64 citations·2017
Improvement of Squalene Production from CO2 in Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 by Metabolic Engineering and Scalable Production in a Photobioreactor
Sun Young Choi, Jin-Young Wang, Ho Seok Kwak, Sun‐Mi Lee, Youngsoon Um, Yunje Kim, Sang Jun Sim, Jong‐Il Choi, Han Min Woo
SJR Q1ACS Synthetic Biology

The push-and-pull strategy for metabolic engineering was successfully demonstrated in Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942, a model photosynthetic bacterium, to produce squalene from CO 2 . Squalene synthase (SQS) was fused to either a key enzyme (farnesyl diphosphate synthase) of the methylerythritol phosphate pathway or the β-subunit of phycocyanin (CpcB1). Engineered cyanobacteria with expression of a fusion CpcB1-SQS protein showed a squalene production level (7.16 ± 0.05 mg/L/OD 730 ) that was

Molecular BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
12
Article|62 citations·2018
RNA-guided single/double gene repressions in Corynebacterium glutamicum using an efficient CRISPR interference and its application to industrial strain
Jaehyun Park, Hyo Jung Shin, Sun‐Mi Lee, Youngsoon Um, Han Min Woo
SJR Q1Microbial Cell FactoriesOA

BACKGROUND: The construction of microbial cell factories requires cost-effective and rapid strain development through metabolic engineering. Recently, RNA-guided CRISPR technologies have been developed for metabolic engineering of industrially-relevant host. RESULTS: To demonstrate the application of the CRISPR interference (CRISPRi), we developed two-plasmid CRISPRi vectors and applied the CRISPRi in Corynebacterium glutamicum to repress single target genes and double target genes simultaneousl

Molecular BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
13
Article|62 citations·2017
Modular pathway engineering of Corynebacterium glutamicum to improve xylose utilization and succinate production
Suah Jo, Jinkyung Yoon, Sun‐Mi Lee, Youngsoon Um, Sung Ok Han, Han Min Woo
SJR Q2Journal of Biotechnology
Molecular BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
14
Review|58 citations·2014
Recent progress in development of synthetic biology platforms and metabolic engineering of Corynebacterium glutamicum
Han Min Woo, Jin‐Byung Park
SJR Q2Journal of Biotechnology
Molecular BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
15
Article|53 citations·2017
Photosynthetic CO2 Conversion to Fatty Acid Ethyl Esters (FAEEs) Using Engineered Cyanobacteria
Hyun Jeong Lee, Jae‐Yeon Choi, Sun‐Mi Lee, Youngsoon Um, Sang Jun Sim, Yunje Kim, Han Min Woo
SJR Q1Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry

High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Metabolic engineering of cyanobacteria has received attention as a sustainable strategy to convert carbon dioxide to fatty acid-derived chemicals that are widely used in the food and chemical industries. Herein, Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942, a model cyanobacterium, was engineered for the first time to produce fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEEs) from CO 2 . Due to the lack of an endogenous ethanol production pathway and wax ester synthase (AftA)

Molecular BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Research Areas

Molecular BiologyBiomedical EngineeringPlant ScienceRenewable Energy, Sustainability and the EnvironmentEcology, Evolution, Behavior and SystematicsEnvironmental Engineering

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