Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering

Research Areas

Nano Bio Materials

Research Interests

MATERIAL-BASED CANCER VACCINE AND IMMUNOTHERAPY
We focus on the development of therapeutic nanobiomaterials based on multidisciplinary strategies. Materialbased therapeutic approaches have high potentials to overcome various problems in current clinical approaches to treat diseases. Specifically, we are interested in synthesis and engineering of diverse materials including mesoporous nanoparticles, metal oxide nanoparticles, graphene oxide, and three-dimensional scaffold in promoting and regulating immune responses based on drug delivery concepts to develop novel material systems for immunotherapy to treat cancer, autoimmune diseases and infectious diseases. By controlling their physicochemical properties, these materials can exhibit unique characteristics, such as immune activation, anti-inflammation, and host cell modulation.

MULTIFUNCTIONAL NANOBIOMATERIALS FOR ON-DEMAND DELIVERY AND ARTIFICIAL CELLULAR MICROENVIRONMENT
Based on intrinsic catalytic and physical properties of nanobiomaterials, we synthesize multifunctional nanoparticles and assemble them for biomedical applications to enzyme mimetics, on-demand delivery, and molecular imaging. Furthermore, we investigate the role of these materials for controlling cellular microenvironments of cancer and immune system.

NATURE-INSPIRED HYBRID MATERIALS WITH EXTRAORDINARY MECHANO-PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
By combining functional nanoparticles and diverse polymer network, we aim to design and develop nature-inspired hybrid materials with outstanding toughness, strength, and stretchability for their application to tissue engineering, drug delivery, and bioactuation.

Selected Publications

1. Injectable, spontaneously assembling, inorganic scaffolds modulate immune cells in vivo and increase vaccine efficacy, Nature Biotechnology 33, 64 (2015)

2. Designed fabrication of super-stiff, anisotropic hybrid hydrogels via linear remodeling of polymer networks and subsequent crosslinking, Journal of Materials Chemistry B 3, 1479 (2015)

3. A biodegradation study of SBA-15 microparticles in simulated body fluid and in vivo, Langmuir 31, 6457 (2015)

4. Tailoring Dispersion and Aggregation of Au Nanoparticles in the BHJ Layer of Polymer Solar Cells: Plasmon Effects versus Electrical Effects, ChemSusChem 7, 3452 (2014)

5. Effect of pore structure of macroporous poly(lactide-co-glycolide) scaffolds on the in vivo enrichment of dendritic cells, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 6, 8505 (2014)

6. In Vivo Modulation of Dendritic Cells by Engineered Materials: Towards New Cancer Vaccines, Nano Today 6, 466 (2011)

7. Targeted Delivery of Nanoparticles to Ischemic Muscle for Imaging and Therapeutic Angiogenesis, Nano Letters 11, 694 (2011)

8. Multifunctional Capsule-in-Capsules for Immunoprotection and Trimodal Imaging,
Angewandte Chemie International Edition 50, 2317 (2011)
Active Scaffolds for On-Demand Drug and Cell Delivery, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 108, 67 (2011)

9. Magnetic Nanocomposite Spheres Decorated with NiO Nanoparticles for Magnetically Recycling Protein Separation System, Advanced Materials 22, 57 (2010)

Professional Experience

성균관대학교 부교수 (2016-현재)
성균관대학교 조교수 (2012-2016)
하버드대학교 Postdoc 연구원 (2008-2012)
존스홉킨스의대 연구원 (2008)
서울대학교 연구원 (2007-2009)