News

My recent paper published in Molecular Ecology Resources (and me as the first author) has been featured by Hanbitsa (Korean Scientists in the Spotlight), a prestigious program run by the Biological Research Information Center (BRIC) that highlights outstanding research by Korean biologists.

Being featured in Hanbitsa is a deeply meaningful honor—it is a highly selective recognition, granted only to a small number of researchers whose work represents significance and innovation in their discipline. Within the Korean community of biologists, it is regarded as one of the most distinguished acknowledgments of research achievement. I am truly honored that my study, which developed an accessible workflow for constructing short-read-based pangenomes, was selected for this feature and recognized as a contribution that broadens the reach of evolutionary and conservation genomics.

Read the feature here: https://www.ibric.org/bric/hanbitsa/treatise.do?mode=treatise-view&id=98980&authorId=40402

Oct 21 2025

A long-term pangenome benchmarking project has finally been published in Molecular Ecology Resources!

In this study, my co-authors and I developed an accessible and cost-effective workflow for constructing short-read-based pangenomes, linear and graph, enabling researchers to capture structural variants and within-species genomic diversity without relying solely on expensive long-read data. Using empirical datasets, we demonstrated that short-read pangenomes can recover most of the genetic variation found in high-quality long-read assemblies, offering a practical path forward for conservation and evolutionary genomics in data- and budget-limited systems.

This work represents my third dissertation paper and one of the most computationally intensive projects I have worked on—requiring extensive optimization and testing over the past two years. I’m very excited to share it with the community and hope it broadens the accessibility of pangenomic approaches for diverse species.

Read the full article here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1755-0998.70060

Oct 18 2025

I was honored to receive the Korean Honors Scholarship, a prestigious award granted by the Government of the Republic of Korea to outstanding Korean graduate students studying in the United States across all academic disciplines. Being selected among such talented scholars was a deeply meaningful experience, and I am truly grateful for the recognition and encouragement to continue contributing to both the global and Korean academic communities.

Oct 17 2025

I recently received two unexpected honors — the Kirkpatrick Graduate Memorial Award from Purdue’s Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, recognizing the most outstanding graduate student, and the Graham Scholarship from the Libraries and School of Information Studies, awarded to an exemplary student in the graduate certificate program. I had not applied for either award, so it was an incredible surprise and an immense honor to be recognized in both my primary and non-primary fields of study. These recognitions feel especially meaningful as they reflect the interdisciplinary nature of my work and the support of the communities that have shaped my academic journey.

Apr 15 & 21 2025

I’m incredibly honored to share that I recently received the Louis Bernatchez Memorial Prize 2024! Named after the late Dr. Louis Bernatchez (1960–2023), a pioneer in our field who was deeply admired by many—including myself—this award recognizes the best student-led paper of the year, selected from among 30–40 publications. It’s especially meaningful to be the inaugural recipient of this prize.

The award was given for our paper Jeon et al. (2024), “Genetic diversity as a key conservation criterion: Proof-of-concept from mammalian whole-genome resequencing data”, and I truly receive it on behalf of all my co-authors.

This recognition feels like a reminder to keep pursuing my research with humility and joy, to stay true to my passion, and not be discouraged by external noise. And, fun fact—my birthday was just last week. What a wonderful and unforgettable birthday gift!

Mar 24 2025

I am truly honored and excited to have been featured in Purdue Graduate Ag Research Spotlights and Scholarly Excellence in Purdue Today. It is a privilege to have my work recognized within the Purdue community, and I am grateful for the opportunity to share my research and academic journey. This recognition motivates me to continue striving for excellence and contributing to the field, and I appreciate the support and encouragement from my mentors, colleagues, and the university. Without them, my research cannot be conducted. 

You can read and watch my story here: https://ag.purdue.edu/news/department/arge/2024/11/graduate-spotlight-jong-yoon-jeon.html

Nov 4 2024 & Jan 15 2025

A huge, long-lasted research has been published by Evolutionay Applications finally! Co-authors and I collected every available population-level whole-genome resequencing data of mammalian species from NCBI (n = 82), then we analyzed the data to estimate various genomic diversity (GD) metrics. We also compiled the species conservation categories from the IUCN Red List and examined statistical association of them with each of the GD metrics. A few GD metrics were found indicative of species conservation status, although the IUCN has not considered GD in its assessment procedure yet. The result led us to conceive a new conservation assessment framework to incorporate GD that conservation agencies can utilize. It took more than 2 years just to analyze the data..! Visit https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/eva.70000 for more information.

Sep 10 2024

A large collaborative work on Lesser prairie-chicken (LEPC) among members of DeWoody Lab and Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies has been published by PNAS Nexus. In this work, we analyzed >400 LEPC samples and found out the species' taxonomic status is not actually unambiguous from genomic perspective due to ongoing introgression with Greater prairie-chickens. This finding is especially crucial for the species listing under US Endangered Species Act which listed the species northern and southern distinct population segments. The finding questioned how the current listing applies the species taxonomic status. Visit https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/3/8/pgae298/7720645 for more information. 

Jul 25 2024

My first chapter research that reviewed innovative approaches integrating whole-genome resequencing data (WGR) and ecological niche modeling method (ENM) has been published by Diversity and Distributions. In this review paper, collaborators and I studied recent literature and identified several representative ways to exploit WGR and ENM for better identification of local adaptation profiles. Visit https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ddi.13847 for more information. 

Apr 11 2024

A collaborative research among students and mentors of my team at the Distributed Graduate Seminar - Landscape Genetics Course has been published. Also with researches of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, this study tried to reveal genetic effects of Chinook salmon and Rainbow trout/Steelhead after dam removal at the Elwha river system. My role as a second author was analyzing 'Isolation by Resistance' using riverscape genetics approach. Visit https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2023.1225229/full for more information. 

Nov 09 2023

For my third and last first-authored research during my Master's, I compared gene flow patterns of a forest metapopulation and urban metapopulation of an endangered salamander (Kori salamander, Hynobius yangi). The study revealed that the latter metapopulation showed lower functional connectivity among subpopulations, presumably due to recent urbanization impacts. This was my favorite project at that time and I am more than happy that the knowledge has not been lost at the end.  Visit https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11252-023-01434-9 for more information.

Sep 11 2023

The research I conducted during my stint at LECCA of SNU has been published in Scientific Data. Using a large dataset comprised of multiple national ecosystem survey data from South Korea, we analyzed functional groups of amphibians and reptiles, and identified regions of low functional diversity. Visit https://www.nature.com/articles/s41597-022-01924-z for more information.

Jan 05 2022

The research I participated in the fourth author describing a new Onychodactylus salamander has been published in Zoological Research 43 (5): 750-755 (Title: Dwindling in the mountains: Description of a critically endangered and microendemic Onychodactylus species (Amphibia, Hynobiidae) from the Korean Peninsula). The existence of this new species has been known for a while but the description took a long time due to its elusive nature. In the meantime, a large portion of its distribution range has been disappeared because of housing lot development. Visit https://www.zoores.ac.cn/en/article/doi/10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2022.048 for more information.

Sep 08 2022

A perspective article about using whole-genome resequencing (WGR) data for conservation assessment has been out in PNAS now! It includes recent trends of RRS (reduced representation sequencing) and WGR in the number of published articles, too. It shares our opinion about how WGR can be beneficial for evaluating conservation status which is closely related to my first chapter research. Visit https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2210685119 for more information.

Aug 15 2022

My research about phylogenetics and population genetics of a controversial and common brown frog in Korea has been published in Salamandra 57 (4): 529-540 (Title: Resolving the taxonomic equivocacy and the population genetic structure of Rana uenoi – insights into dispersal and demographic history). I tried to resolve the long-lasted taxonomic controversy regarding the species scientific name as well as the Korean and English common name using newly-developed microsatellite markers and a mitochondrial gene. Visit https://www.salamandra-journal.com/index.php/home/contents/2021-vol-57/2065-j-y-jeon-s-cho-h-y-suk-c-h-lee-a-borzee-j-y-song-h-lee-m-s-min for more information.

Oct 30 2021

My research of Master's program about population genetics of the unique Asian plethodontid salamander, Korean Creviese Salamander (Karsenia koreana) has been published in Nature Publishing Group's Scientific Reports 11: 9193 (Title: The Asian plethodontid salamander preserves historical genetic imprints of recent northern expansion). It attempted to reveal the phylogeographic relationship between distinct populations throughout the species distribution range using newly developed microsatellite markers and mitochondrial genes. The results were well matched with the long-standing 'Southern refugia' theory. Visit https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-88238-z for more information.

Apr 28 2021

I am thrilled to inform that I have been admitted to Purdue University with a full-funding assistanchip! From August this year, I will start my Ph.D. training at Purdue's Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, especially under the guidance of Dr. Andrew DeWoody. Located in Indiana, USA, the school is well-known for its strong programs in Engineering and also Agriculture that the department is housed in. I firmly believe that with Dr. DeWoody who is an editor of a great journal Molecular Ecology, a member of AAAS, and an IUCN conservation genetics specialist, I can develop advanced research skills in genomics field.

Apr 15 2021

A mitochondrial genome paper of Rana uenoi (Title: The complete mitochondrial genome information of Rana uenoi (Amphibia, Anura, Ranidae) and the phylogenetic implication) that I am listed as the second author has been published in Mitochondrial DNA Part B: Resources, 6 (2): 689-690. Visit https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23802359.2021.1882896 for more information.

Mar 01 2021

I joined Lab. of Landscape Ecology and Climate Change Adaptation (LECCA) at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences as a researcher for five months from March to July 2021. It will be a good opportunity for me to learn about landscape ecological research methods before I leave Korea for study-abroad. In here, I will study GIS (Geographic Information System) techniques and biodiversity in a broad scale.

Feb 26 2021

I finally finished my Master's training at College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University. Huge thanks to my honorable advisors, Drs. Mi-Sook Min and Hang Lee. Another huge thanks to my lab mates, Dr. Han-Chan Park, Daecheol Jeong, Jeehyun Kim, Sujoo Cho, Seung Woo Han, Jang Mi Lee, Kyung Eun Lee and Cha Heun Lee.

Feb 26 2021

My book about wildlife and experience in the Amazonian rain forest, An Expedition to Amazon Wildlife, has been selected as one of 2020 Cultural Books of The Year for Youth, selected by Korean Publishers Association. In detail, the book has been placed as one of 6 books in Science section, out of 40 books in total selection. This is a great honor to me as a writer in inchoate level!

Jun 23 2020

I am so happy to be selected as a recipient of the grant for enriching Korean Citizen Science with my research proposal. This grant  is funded by Korea Safety Health Environment Foundation, one of the active non-profit organization, co-hosting with Dong-A Science Group, the biggest science media provider in Korea.

For this citizen science project, I will educate and collaborate with enthusiastic young citizen scientists and their families under the subject of "Population genetic responses of an endangered Korean salamander, Hynobius yangi,  influenced by urbanization and subsequent vicariance" to elucidate the genetic consequences of the species resulted from human-induced landscape change, urbanization.

Apr 29 2020

Happy and meaningful time in Dunedin! I've got the BEST POSTER AWARD - MIXED TAXA with my poster presentation on [Population genetic structure of Karsenia koreana, the only Asian plethodontid]

Jan 10 2020

My book about wildlife and experience in the Amazonian rain forest was finally published! This is based on a diary I wrote while I was staying in the Amazon. I hope as many people as possible can get to know this book and can get more insights about, get closer to biodiversity and conservation. 

Oct 10 2019

I was featured in a nature documentary series of EBS (Korea Educational Broadcasting System), whose topic was population genetic differentiation of wildlife in DMZ (demilitarized zone). I took part in collecting water deer's fecal samples in Paju DMZ area.

16 Sep 2019

My photo of Bombina orientalis was featured on the cover of PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B, 286 (1904). It is an unexpected but great honor!

12 Jun 2019