Dr. Kim Sunghoon is a South Korean
biologist
A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...
.
Education
*1981 B.S.
Seoul National University
Seoul National University (SNU; ) is a national public research university located in Seoul, South Korea. Founded in 1946, Seoul National University is largely considered the most prestigious university in South Korea; it is one of the three "S ...
*1983 M.S.
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) is a national research university located in Daedeok Innopolis, Daejeon, South Korea. KAIST was established by the Korean government in 1971 as the nation's first public, research ...
*1991 Ph.D.
Brown University
Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
, U.S.
Work
Dr. Sunghoon Kim has been studying novel functions of human
aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases
An aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (aaRS or ARS), also called tRNA-ligase, is an enzyme that attaches the appropriate amino acid onto its corresponding tRNA. It does so by catalyzing the transesterification of a specific cognate amino acid or its pre ...
(ARSs) and searching for their pathophysiological connections to human diseases(PNAS 105:11043, 2008; Nat Rev Cancer 11:708, 2011). He has identified potent novel tumor suppressors such as AIMP2/p38(Nat Genet 34:330, 2003), AIMP3/p18(Cell, 120:209, 2005). Besides, he has also investigated novel extracellular activities of ARSs and associated factors such as lysyl-tRNA synthetase(KRS)(PNAS 102, 6356, 2005), tryptophanyl-tRNA synthetase(WRS)(Nat Struct Mol Biol 11:149, 2004) and AIMP1/p43(PNAS 103:14913, 2006). He also discovered the oncogenic variant of AIMP2, designated AIMP2-DX2, as one of the critical factors that determines the survival of lung cancer patients(Plos Genet 7:e1001351, 2011). More recently, he found that leucyl-tRNA synthetase(LRS) serves as an amino acid sensor for mTOR signal pathway(Cell 149:410, 2012).
In summary, his research is unveiling novel regulatory network mediated by human aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases that have been regarded as housekeeping machinery for protein synthesis. The regulatory roles and implications of these proteins in human diseases have been largely overlooked for decades. His series of the discoveries on the new function, pathology and medicine of ARSs are rapidly opening a research area that throws new insights into the central dogma of life and human diseases.
*1991 - 1994 Post-doc,
MIT
*1994 - 2001 Associate Professor,
Sung Kyun Kwan University
*2001–Present Professor,
Seoul National University
Seoul National University (SNU; ) is a national public research university located in Seoul, South Korea. Founded in 1946, Seoul National University is largely considered the most prestigious university in South Korea; it is one of the three "S ...
*1988 - 2007 Director, Center for ARS Network National Creative Research Initiatives
*2007 - 2010 Director, Center for Medicinal Protein Network and Systems Biology
*2010–Present Director, Medicinal Bioconvergence Research Center
Awards
*2000
Donghun Award,
Korean Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
The Korean Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (KSBMB; ) is a scholarly association of Korean biochemists and molecular biologists with approximately 15,000 members. It is a member of the Federation of Asia and Oceania Biochemists and ...
*2003
Korea Science Award, Ministry of Science and Technology
*2003 Scientist of the Month, Korea Science and Engineering Foundation (KOSEF)
*2006
Top Scientist and Technologist Award of Korea, Ministry of Science and Technology
*2012 Award of Korean National Academy of Science
*2015
Ho-am Prize in Medicine, Ho-Am Foundation
See also
*AwardsAminoacyl tRNA synthetase
*Leucyl-tRNA synthetase
References
External links
College of Pharmacy, Seoul National UniversityMedicinal Bioconvergence Research CenterDept. of Molecular Medicine and Biopharmaceutical Sciences, Seoul National University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Sung-hoon
South Korean biologists
Seoul National University alumni
KAIST alumni
1958 births
Living people
Recipients of the Ho-Am Prize in Medicine