Dr. Woo Shik Shin is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU), where his laboratory focuses on translational drug discovery and development for neurodegenerative diseases and antimicrobial resistance. His research integrates computational chemistry, structural biology, medicinal chemistry, and in vivo pharmacology to accelerate the identification of first-in-class therapeutic candidates.

Dr. Shin began his scientific training at the Seoul National University (School of Medicine), earning an M.S. in Tumor Biology & Clinical Oncology, where he investigated molecular mechanisms driving cancer progression. To strengthen his quantitative and computational background, he completed a second M.S. in Computer Science at South Dakota State University, focusing on algorithmic and computational approaches to biological problems.

He earned his Ph.D. in Computational and Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Minnesota–Minneapolis in 2016, followed by postdoctoral research at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), David Geffen School of Medicine, Department of Neurology. At UCLA, he studied molecular drivers of tauopathy and Alzheimer’s disease progression, combining biochemical, structural, and behavioral models.

Prior to joining FDU, Dr. Shin served as a faculty member at Northeast Ohio Medical University, College of Pharmacy, where he led multidisciplinary research programs supported by NIH-level rigor and translational goals.

Over more than a decade of scientific work, Dr. Shin has published in leading peer-reviewed journals, including Nature Chemistry, Nature Communications, Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy, Pharmacological Research, and others. His research has resulted in three U.S. patents, with additional disclosures in progress, and several technologies are under review for potential commercialization through pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners.