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What is happening in the NP-OILD Lab?

2024

  • Congratulations to Olivia on reaching the milestone of her academic life by successfully completing her PhD program.
  • Congratulations to Hyungryun on successfully completing his PhD program.
  • Dr. Ji-Young Lee was selected as the 2024-2026 Ewha Global Fellow in recognition of being a leading scholar in human nutrition.
  • Farewell to John Joseph Chua, an MD/PhD student at the University of Phillipines-Manila, who returned to his home country after spending one year in the NP-OILD lab for his PhD research.

2023

  • Congratulations to Dr. Jaeeun Lee on receiving a postdoctoral fellowship from the National Research Foundation of Korea.
  • Congratulations to Dr. Mingkyung Bae on her new position as assistant professor at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea.
  • John Joseph Chua, an MD/PhD student at the University of Phillipines-Manila, joined the NP-OILD lab in January as a visiting student. He will conduct his PhD dissertation research for a year. Welcome JJ!

2022

  • Dr. Jaeeun Lee joined the NP-OILD lab in October as a postdoc fellow. She earned her BS, MS, and PhD degrees from Yonsei University in South Korea. We welcome her to the lab.
  • Welcome, Seungjin Jeon and Hyeju Lee from Pukyung National University, South Korea, to the NP-OILD Lab.
  • The NP-OILD lab welcomes Aizhan Karabekova as a visiting PhD student from Al-Farabi Kazakh National University in Kazakhstan in May.
  • Congratulations to Dr. Tho Pham, a former PhD student, on starting his professional career in the industry at Moderna in May.
  • Congratulations to Abby for receiving a SURF Award from the Office of Undergraduate Research in March 2022 to continue to work in the lab this summer.
  • Will Odell, a pre-med undergraduate student who has been working in the lab for several years, accepted the position as a clinical research assistant at the Yale School of Medicine. Will will expand his skills from pre-clinical to clinical research in this position before going to a medical school.
  • Dr. Hyunju Kang, a former PhD student and postdoc, accepted a faculty position in the Department of Food and Nutrition at Keimyung University in South Korea. Congratulations to Dr. Kang on her first faculty position!
  • Congratulations to Dr. Young-Ki Park on receiving a grant from USDA to explore the health benefit of sugar kelp, primarily focusing on its effects on the gut microbiome.

2021

  • Another congratulations to Dr. Ji-Young Lee for her new grant from USDA to investigate gut-derived berry metabolites and inflammation.
  • Congratulations to Dr. Ji-Young Lee on securing an NIH grant to study the role of histone deacetylase 4 (HDAC4) in the pathogenesis of alcoholic hepatitis.
  • The NP-OILD Lab welcomes Hayoung Woo as a PhD student in the fall of 2021.
  • Our sugar kelp study was featured in the UConn Today. https://today.uconn.edu/2021/06/eating-under-the-sea-uconn-researchers-find-health-benefits-of-connecticut-grown-sugar-kelp/
  • Dr. Yoojin Lee, a former PhD student, was featured on the CAHNR Newsroom.
  • Will Odell, an Undergraduate researcher, received a SURF Award from the Office of Undergraduate Research in March 2021. Congratulations to Will!
  • Dr. Lee was invited as reviewer editor for Frontiers in Nutrition - Nutrigenomics as well as Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine - Lipidology in Feb.
  • Dr. Hyunju Kang presents "The role of astaxanthin and histone deacetylase 4 in alcohol-induced inflammation" at UConn RNA Salon on Feb 19th.
  • The NP-OILD new website is launched in January.

2020

  • Hyunju Kang graduated with PhD in December 2020 and she will stay in Lee's Lab for postdoc training.
  • Dr. Lee presented at the 21st Frontier Scientists Workshop hosted by the Korean Academy of Science and Technology in December 2020. The title of her talk was "Role of macrophage histone deacetylase 4 in diet-induced metabolic dysfunctions and inflammation".
  • Dr. Lee gave a virtual seminar in the Department of Food and Nutrition at Yonsei University in South Korea in November 2020. The seminar title was "Mechanistic understanding of the role of astaxanthin in the prevention of alcohol-induced inflammation in macrophages".
  • Siqi Hu successfully defended his PhD dissertation in June 2020 and he will start his postdoc training at UC San Diego School of Medicine.
  • Hyunju Kang, a PhD student, was elected as a finalist at the American Society for Nutrition Emerging Leader Poster Competition in the Carotenoids and Retinoids Topical Area in June 2020.
  • Dr. Mi-Bo Kim, a post-doc, was a finalist at the American Society for Nutrition Emerging Leader Poster Competition in the Carotenoids and Retinoids Topical Area in June 2020.
  • Yoojin Lee finished her PhD program in May 2020. She will get her postdoc training at Harvard Medical School.
  • Former PhD student, Dr. Minkyung Bae will start her faculty career in March 2020 as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Food and Nutrition at Changwon National University in South Korea.

Nutritional scientist studies blackcurrant health benefits and obesity-related disease prevention

Dr. Yoojin Lee, a former PhD student in the NP-OILD lab, is currently a postdoc at Harvard School of Medicine.