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Soo Hwan Oh

Korea University · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

About the Lab

Professor Soo Hwan Oh's research lab focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying viral pathogenesis, autophagy, and cancer progression, with a particular emphasis on the roles of host and viral factors in immune evasion and disease persistence. The lab investigates how autophagy-related proteins such as UVRAG contribute to both tumor suppression and viral entry, revealing unexpected non-canonical functions beyond canonical autophagy. By integrating genomics, epigenomics, and functional virology approaches, the lab uncovers novel regulatory nodes in cancer metabolism and antiviral defense, especially in the context of persistent gamma-herpesvirus infections and chemotherapy resistance. Their work bridges fundamental cell biology with translational applications in oncology and virology.

autophagyviral entrycancer progressionviral persistencegenomic regulation

Research Overview

Papers
51
Total Citations
3,214
Papers (5y)
21
Primary Field
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Research Output Trend

Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.

Publications per year (5y)
21total
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
Citations per year (5y)
191total
20222023202420252026

Selected Papers

15
1
Article|1,082 citations·2013
Functional roles of enhancer RNAs for oestrogen-dependent transcriptional activation
Wenbo Li, Dimple Notani, Qi Ma, Bogdan Tanasă, Esperanza Núñez, Aaron Yun Chen, Daria Merkurjev, Jie Zhang, Kenneth A. Ohgi, Xiaoyuan Song, Soohwan Oh, Hong-Sook Kim
SJR Q1Nature
Cancer ResearchBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
2
Article|381 citations·2019
Phase separation of ligand-activated enhancers licenses cooperative chromosomal enhancer assembly
Sreejith J. Nair, Yang Lu, Dario Meluzzi, Soohwan Oh, Feng Yang, Meyer J. Friedman, Susan Wang, Tom Suter, Ibraheem Alshareedah, Amir Gamliel, Qi Ma, Jie Zhang
SJR Q1Nature Structural & Molecular BiologyOA
Molecular BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
3
Article|216 citations·2014
Enhancer Activation Requires trans-Recruitment of a Mega Transcription Factor Complex
Zhijie Liu, Daria Merkurjev, Feng Yang, Wenbo Li, Soohwan Oh, Meyer J. Friedman, Xiaoyuan Song, Feng Zhang, Qi Ma, Kenneth A. Ohgi, Anna Krones, Michael G. Rosenfeld
SJR Q1CellOA
Molecular BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
4
Article|185 citations·2015
The Transcription Factor KLF2 Restrains CD4 + T Follicular Helper Cell Differentiation
June‐Yong Lee, Cara Skon-Hegg, You Jeong Lee, Soohwan Oh, Justin J. Taylor, Deepali Malhotra, Marc K. Jenkins, Michael G. Rosenfeld, Kristin A. Hogquist, Stephen C. Jameson
SJR Q1ImmunityOA
ImmunologyImmunology and Microbiology
5
Article|172 citations·2015
LRP8-Reelin-Regulated Neuronal Enhancer Signature Underlying Learning and Memory Formation
Francesca Telese, Qi Ma, Patricia Montilla‐Perez, Dimple Notani, Soohwan Oh, Wenbo Li, Davide Comoletti, Kenneth A. Ohgi, Havilah Taylor, Michael G. Rosenfeld
SJR Q1NeuronOA
GeneticsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
6
Article|152 citations·2021
Enhancer release and retargeting activates disease-susceptibility genes
Soohwan Oh, Jiaofang Shao, Joydeep Mitra, Feng Xiong, Matteo D’Antonio, Ruoyu Wang, Ivan García-Bassets, Qi Ma, Xiaoyu Zhu, Joo‐Hyung Lee, Sreejith J. Nair, Feng Yang
SJR Q1NatureOA
Molecular BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
7
Article|117 citations·2015
Condensin I and II Complexes License Full Estrogen Receptor α-Dependent Enhancer Activation
Wenbo Li, Yiren Hu, Soohwan Oh, Qi Ma, Daria Merkurjev, Xiaoyuan Song, Xiang Zhou, Zhijie Liu, Bogdan Tanasă, Xin He, Aaron Yun Chen, Kenny Ohgi
SJR Q1Molecular CellOA
Molecular BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
8
Article|103 citations·2012
A Dual Role for UVRAG in Maintaining Chromosomal Stability Independent of Autophagy
Zhen Zhao, Soohwan Oh, Dapeng Li, Duojiao Ni, Sara Dolatshahi Pirooz, Joo‐Hyung Lee, Shunhua Yang, June‐Yong Lee, Irene Ghozalli, Vincenzo Costanzo, Jeremy M. Stark, Chengyu Liang
SJR Q1Developmental CellOA
EpidemiologyMedicine
9
Article|91 citations·2013
PtdIns(3)P-bound UVRAG coordinates Golgi–ER retrograde and Atg9 transport by differential interactions with the ER tether and the beclin 1 complex
Shanshan He, Duojiao Ni, Binyun Ma, Joo‐Hyung Lee, Tian Zhang, Irene Ghozalli, Sara Dolatshahi Pirooz, Zhen Zhao, Nagakumar Bharatham, Baihong Li, Soohwan Oh, Wen‐Hwa Lee
SJR Q1Nature Cell BiologyOA
EpidemiologyMedicine
10
Article|90 citations·2015
Truncating mutation in the autophagy gene UVRAG confers oncogenic properties and chemosensitivity in colorectal cancers
Shanshan He, Zhen Zhao, Yongfei Yang, Douglas O’Connell, Xiaowei Zhang, Soohwan Oh, Binyun Ma, Joo‐Hyung Lee, Tian Zhang, Bino Varghese, Janae Yip, Sara Dolatshahi Pirooz
SJR Q1Nature CommunicationsOA

Autophagy-related factors are implicated in metabolic adaptation and cancer metastasis. However, the role of autophagy factors in cancer progression and their effect in treatment response remain largely elusive. Recent studies have shown that UVRAG, a key autophagic tumour suppressor, is mutated in common human cancers. Here we demonstrate that the cancer-related UVRAG frameshift (FS), which does not result in a null mutation, is expressed as a truncated UVRAG(FS) in colorectal cancer (CRC) with

EpidemiologyMedicine
11
Article|81 citations·2009
Viral Bcl-2-Mediated Evasion of Autophagy Aids Chronic Infection of γHerpesvirus 68
E Xiaofei, Seungmin Hwang, Soohwan Oh, Jong‐Soo Lee, Joseph H. Jeong, Yousang Gwack, Timothy F. Kowalik, Ren Sun, Jae U. Jung, Chengyu Liang
SJR Q1PLoS PathogensOA

Gamma-herpesviruses (gammaHVs) have developed an interaction with their hosts wherein they establish a life-long persistent infection and are associated with the onset of various malignancies. One critical virulence factor involved in the persistency of murine gamma-herpesvirus 68 (gammaHV68) is the viral homolog of the Bcl-2 protein (vBcl-2), which has been implicated to counteract both host apoptotic responses and autophagy pathway. However, the relative significance of the two activities of v

EpidemiologyMedicine
12
Article|68 citations·2014
Chem-seq permits identification of genomic targets of drugs against androgen receptor regulation selected by functional phenotypic screens
Chunyu Jin, Liuqing Yang, Min Xie, Chunru Lin, Daria Merkurjev, Joy C. Yang, Bogdan Tanasă, Soohwan Oh, Jie Zhang, Kenneth A. Ohgi, Hongyan Zhou, Wenbo Li
SJR Q1Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesOA

Understanding the mechanisms by which compounds discovered using cell-based phenotypic screening strategies might exert their effects would be highly augmented by new approaches exploring their potential interactions with the genome. For example, altered androgen receptor (AR) transcriptional programs, including castration resistance and subsequent chromosomal translocations, play key roles in prostate cancer pathological progression, making the quest for identification of new therapeutic agents

Molecular BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
13
Article|60 citations·2010
Downregulation of autophagy by Bcl-2 promotes MCF7 breast cancer cell growth independent of its inhibition of apoptosis
Soohwan Oh, E Xiaofei, Duojiao Ni, Sara Dolatshahi Pirooz, J-Y Lee, Doheon Lee, Zhen Zhao, S Lee, Hung Ming Lee, Bonsu Ku, Timothy F. Kowalik, Sue Ellen Martin
SJR Q1Cell Death and DifferentiationOA
EpidemiologyMedicine
14
Review|42 citations·2024
Enhancer–promoter specificity in gene transcription: molecular mechanisms and disease associations
Meyer J. Friedman, Tobias Wagner, Haram Lee, Michael G. Rosenfeld, Soohwan Oh
SJR Q1Experimental & Molecular MedicineOA

Although often located at a distance from their target gene promoters, enhancers are the primary genomic determinants of temporal and spatial transcriptional specificity in metazoans. Since the discovery of the first enhancer element in simian virus 40, there has been substantial interest in unraveling the mechanism(s) by which enhancers communicate with their partner promoters to ensure proper gene expression. These research efforts have benefited considerably from the application of increasing

Molecular BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
15
Article|40 citations·2020
Super-Enhancer Redistribution as a Mechanism of Broad Gene Dysregulation in Repeatedly Drug-Treated Cancer Cells
Qi Ma, Feng Yang, Carlos Mackintosh, Ranveer Singh Jayani, Soohwan Oh, Chunyu Jin, Sreejith J. Nair, Daria Merkurjev, Wubin Ma, Stephanie Allen, Dong Wang, Angels Almenar‐Queralt
SJR Q1Cell ReportsOA

Cisplatin is an antineoplastic drug administered at suboptimal and intermittent doses to avoid life-threatening effects. Although this regimen shortly improves symptoms in the short term, it also leads to more malignant disease in the long term. We describe a multilayered analysis ranging from chromatin to translation-integrating chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq), global run-on sequencing (GRO-seq), RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), and ribosome profiling-to understand how cisplatin co

Molecular BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Research Areas

Molecular BiologyEpidemiologyImmunologyPsychiatry and Mental healthGeneticsPulmonary and Respiratory Medicine

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