People

Woongjae Yoo, Ph.D.

• Assistant Professor 

- Department of Life Sciences, POSTECH, Pohang, Korea

- 2023. 02 ~ Present

• Postdoctoral Fellow

- Vanderbilt University Medical Center, TN, USA - (2018. 09 ~ 2023. 02)

  (Mentor: Mariana X. Byndloss, D.V.M., Ph.D.)

- University of California at Davis, CA, USA - (2017. 09 ~ 2018. 08)

  (Mentor: Andreas J. Bäumler, Ph.D.)

- Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea - (2017. 03 ~ 2017. 08)

  (Mentor: Sangryeol Ryu, Ph.D.)

• MS/Ph.D. in Food Science and Biotechnology 

- Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea

  (Advisor: Sangryeol Ryu, Ph.D.)

- 2011. 03 ~ 2017. 02

• B.S. in Food Science and Technology

- Chung-Ang University, Anseong, Korea

- 2003. 03 ~ 2011. 02

• Military Service in Korea

- 2004. 01 ~ 2006. 01 

Woongjae Yoo received his Ph.D. from Seoul National University in 2017. After graduating, he worked as a postdoctoral fellow at University of California at Davis (in Davis, CA) and Vanderbilt University Medical Center (in Nashville, TN) and investigated how inflammation-mediated changes in gut epithelial metabolism lead to gut dysbiosis and increased risk of infectious gastroenteritis by Salmonella Typhimurium and cardiovascular disease. When not in the lab, he loves to spend time trying new cafes with his family or exploring the outdoors.   

Chaeeun Lee, Ms. 

• Graduate Student (MS/Ph.D. program)

• Joined in 2023. 06

     ceunlee@postech.ac.kr

Chaeeun earned a B.S. in Systems Biotechnology from Chung-Ang University. She aims to reveal that high-fat diet–mediated colonocyte metabolic dysfunction leads to gut dysbiosis and colorectal cancer. By showing that this shift favors the expansion of colibactin-producing pks⁺ E. coli—driving gut dysbiosis and the accumulation of host DNA damage—she will explain how these processes ultimately promote colorectal cancer. 

Wonho Jeon, Mr.

• Graduate Student (MS/Ph.D. program)

• Joined in 2024. 07

     jeonwonho@postech.ac.kr

Wonho earned a B.S. in Biotechnology from Incheon University. He investigates how pathogenic bacteria, such as Salmonella, control their virulence within the gut. In particular, his work focuses on understanding how virulence expression is modulated by bacterial energy metabolism. 

Serin Lee, Ms.

• Graduate Student (MS/Ph.D. program)

• Joined in 2024. 09

     serinlee@postech.ac.kr

Serin earned a B.S. in Life Sciences from POSTECH. Her research focuses on how gut dysbiosis and the expansion of choline-metabolizing bacteria induced by a Western-style high-fat diet impact human health, particularly in relation to Alzheimer’s disease. She is also interested in exploring bacteriophage-based strategies to restore gut balance and mitigate these effects. Furthermore, her long-term goal is to develop specific mouse models for disease research.

Jonghoon Park, Mr.

• Graduate Student (MS/Ph.D. program)

• Joined in 2025. 03

joepark@postech.ac.kr

Jonghoon earned a B.S. in Systems Biotechnology from Chung-Ang University. He is interested in microorganism communication, especially in how bacteria sense themselves, other bacteria, the environment, and hosts, and regulate their phenotypes. Rather than focusing on the interaction of a single species or a certain set of species, his goal is to elucidate the interaction processes among various species, even between organisms of different kingdoms, in specific environments, particularly the human intestinal environment. To achieve his goal, he is considering utilizing multidisciplinary experimental methods, such as AI-driven multi-omics analysis, analytical chemistry, et cetera. Sharing different perspectives and knowledge from any field is always welcome.