My image titled "Constellation of a Diseased Brain" was selected as a finalist in the 2025 Science Image Challenge, organized by the School of Chemical Sciences (SCS) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign!
The image visualizes amyloid-rich plaques in a brain tissue section stained with small-molecule fluorescent probes. When observed under fluorescence microscopy, the plaques appear scattered across the neuropil in platterns reminiscent of star clusters in the night sky, inspiring the title of the image (Mar 16, 2026).

Winning images 👈
Related brain tissue work is described in my paper! 👈

I gave a poster presentation titled "A Bioorthogonal Neuroimaging Tool to Study Hearing Loss-Cognition Linkes in Neurodegeneration" at 4th Chemical Biology Area Research Conference (CBARC4) with ChemBio subgroup in the Mirica Lab (Jan 13, 2026).

I joined the Organic Allerton conference (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) this year with the Mirica Group members and had a great time connecting with organic chemiststs in the department! Lovely place! (Nov 1, 2025)

My first ACS! I presented my Alzheimer's disease imaging work on Golbal Symposium: Progress in Understanding and Tackling Multifactorial Alzheimer's Disease, recognized for the best oral presentation! The sessions were lively and the discussions were energizing. And a fun bonus, I won the raffle and got an ACS blanket! (Aug 17 to 21, 2025)

Read more about my Presentation on SciMeetings 👈
My reflections on LinkedIn! 👈

I visited KU Leuven to givie a talk about my amyloid imaging work, and it was such a fun and inspriing experience. The discussion were great, and I really enjoyed meeting peoples in Verwilst Lab! Huge thanks to Peter for inviting me and hosting the visit (with wonderful dinner🍷) (Jul 7, 2025).

Attending the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in Chemistry was one of the most inspiring experiences of my career so far! Sitting in the smae room with Nobel laureates and hearing them speak openly about their breakthroughs and challenges, made the path of the science feel both more human and more meaningful. I also had the chance to present my research on Next Gen Session to an audience ranging from undergraduates to Nobel laureates.
This week in Lindau reminded me why I enjoy doing science and strengthened my resolve to pursue research with long-term impact. For more details about my Lindau experiecnce (with pictures), please see the link below (Jun 29 to Jul 4, 2025).

Read more about Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings!👈
My reflections on LinkedIn!👈

Together with the Mirica Group, I helped run a fun, hands-on demo for kids and younger students. It was a great chance to show (without heavy jargon 🥸) how scientists actually "see" biology, and why tools like fluorescence imaging matter for understanding disease. Group students desinged super cool interactive activities that let visitors explore our core idea and important imaging techniques 🔬! I'm grateful to have contributed with lab mates and to be part of a community that values sharing science openly with the public! (Apr 4, 2025)

Read more about Beckman Institute Open House!👈

I participated in the Chemical Biology Area Research Conference (CBARC) at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with ChemBio subgroup in the Mirica Group (Jan 14, 2025).

I successfully defended my Ph.D. dissertation at the Department of Chemistry, Korea University. This milestone markes the culmination of six years of dedication, challenges, and growth! I am deeply grateful to my advior, Prof. Kim, for his invaluable guidance and unwavering support throughout this journey. The title of Doctoral Dissertation is "Development of Advanced Fluorescent Probes for Detection of Amyloid Biomarkers in Alzheimer's Disease." Thank you for wonderful Kim's group!🐯 (Jun 5, 2024) 

Presentation of "development of a fluorescent probe for amyloid-β oligomers and strategies for early Diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (Nat. Commun., 2024)" in an invited seminar at Biological Research Information Center (BRIC) of Korea. Thanks for giving a great opportunity! (Mar 20, 2024)

Related links: Youtube | Webinar (BRIC) | Interview

I participated in the KCS Organic Chemistry Division Workship with the MTL group, my last workshop as a student! (Aug 26, 2024)

I gave an oral presentation at the 17th International Symposium on Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (ISMSC) 2024 in Hangzhou, China. The presentation topic was "Pioneering Alzheimer's Disease Diagnostics: Oligomeric Amyloid-β Detection in Patients' Cerebrospinal Fluid." (May 7, 2024)

Presented my work at KCS Spring 2024 in Suwon, Korea through a poster: "Pioneering the Early Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease: Amyloid-β Oligomers-Sensing Probe in Patients' Cerebrospinal Fluid." (Apr 26, 2024)

Poster presentation at the 7th Korean Dementia Association (KSA) Symposium on "Early diagnosis using an amyloid-β oligomer-sensing probe in patients' cerebrospinal fluid," and especially enjoyed the discussions with clinicians! (Apr 20, 2024)

I attended the 7th Neuroscience Forum on Alzheimer's Disease (NFAD) as a student invitee (an event typically reserved for faculty) thanks to the generous invitation from Prof. Kun Ho Lee (Chosun University). The forum brough together the latest dementia research across academia, industry, research institutes, and clinical medicine, and it was a rare opportunity to hear truly up-to-date seminars in one place. I also valued the opportunity to exchange ideas and build connections with clinicians, company CEOs, and faculties, which mae the experience especially memorable and motivating! (Feb 24, 2024)

I delivered an oral presentation at the 23rd KCS Organic Chemistry Division Symposium (Pyeongchang, Korea) and received the Best Presentation Award for my talk, "Pioneering the Early Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease: Amyloid-β Oligomers-Sensing Small-Molecule Fluorophore for Cerebrospinal Fluid Analysis in Patients." (Aug 24, 2023)

I presented a poster at the 21st Korean Photodynamic Therapy Association (KPA) (Goyang, Korea) and received the Best Poster Award for "NIR-Absorbing Multifunctional AIEgen for Single Laser-Activated Photo-Theranostics with Synthetic PDT/PTT Against Cancers and Pathogens." (Aug 11, 2023)

I presented our work at the 12th ISNSC & 3rd TBioS Symposium (Chiang Mai, Thailand) and received the Editor-selected Presentation Award for "Molecular Engineering for Picomolar-Sensitive Optical Imaging of Co-occurring Aβ Fibrils and NFTs in Alzheimer's Disease Brain." (Jul 25, 2023)

We held an MTL Homecoming Day to celebrate Prof. Jong Seung Kim's 30th year as a faculty member and Teachers' Day! It was a genuinely fun, high-energy reunion—people coming back, catching up on life and research, taking photos, and sharing lots of laughs. I helped coordinate the event as the group point person (mostly to keep the planning and logistics from turning into chaos 😄) and I'm really happy we wrapped it up smoothly and made it a memorable day for the whole MTL community! (May 27, 2023)

I presented at the 14th AFMC International Medicinal Chemistry Symposium (AIMECS) in Seoul, Korea, where I shared our approach to rationally designing a small-molecule probe to sense the co-occurrence of Aβ fibrils and hyperphosphorylated tau. The poster focused on how tuning probe hydrophobicity can be leveraged to push binding tinto the picomolar regime: "Rational Design of a Small-Molecule Probe for Sensing Co-occurrence of Aβ Fbrils and Hyperphosphorylated Tau via Hydrophobicity Tuning Toward Picomolar Binding Affinity." (Jun 27, 2023)

At KCS Spring 2023 (Suwon, Korea), I presented a poster on a small-molecule approach for selectively detecting prefibrillar oligomeric Aβ at the very early stage of the protein aggregation cascade. It was a great chance to discuss what "specificity" really means for oligomers, especially in messy, evolving mixtures, and how molecular design can bias binding toward those transient species. The work "A Small Molecule Strategy for Specific Detection of Prefibrillar Oligomeric Aβ in an Incipient Proteinaceous Aggregation Cascade," received the Best Poster Award. (Apr 27, 2023)

I served on the Organizing Committee for the 1st KU Chem Fair 2023 and chaired the Organic Chemistry Division. It was a hands-on outreach event where we designed and ran interactive chemistry activities, coordinated the program flow, and worked closely with other divisions to make the fair engaging for students and visitors. I especially enjoyed organizing spaces where students from different fields could share their research and have deeper, thoughtful discussions arout it! (Jan 13, 2023)