Gene to Behavior unit     Seungbok Lee, Dept. of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, SNU  HOMEPAGE   The major goal of Dr Lee’s research is to understand the mechanisms by which the structure and function of neural circuits are controlled in development and disease. His laboratory uses Drosophila as a genetic model system to address 1) how developing axons migrate towards their targets, 2) how synapses are formed and modified during development and by experience, and 3) how synapses are affected in neurological diseases. High-impact publications in journals such as Neuron, the Journal of Cell Biology, the Journal of Neuroscience, and Development. Recent studies of the fly homologs of genes that cause hereditary spastic paraplegia in humans have shed new light on the pathologic mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases.   Kyungjin Kim, Dept. of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, SNU  HOMEPAGE   Dr. Kim’s research topics include 1) mammalian biological clock mechanisms underlying circadian rhythms, 2) the synaptic plasticity of maternal stress in the hippocampus and amygdala, and 3) neuroendocrine mechanisms underlying the hypothalamic GnRH pulse generator. Recently disclosed the circadian nature of glucocorticoid, one of the important circadian oscillators, and the genomic drive of the pulsatile GnRH oscillator in the hypothalamus. High-impact publications including PNAS, EMBO Rpt, MCB, J. Neuroscience, Mol Endocrinology, and Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology. He has published more than 210 peer-reviewed original articles, reviews and invited chapters in books. Served on numerous society, business, and editorial board and committee review panels in government and private sectors. He was editor-in-chief of Mol Cells and an associate editor for Mol Reproduction & Development. He is currently an editorial board member for Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology, Progress in Neurobiology, Neuroendocrinology. Received numerous accolades, including the MokAm Bioscience Award from the Korean Society of Molecular and Cellular Biology (1997) and an award from the Korea National Academy of Science (2010). He has been a member of the Korean Academy of Science and Technology since 1999.   Seog Bae Oh, Dept. of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, SNU  HOMEPAGE   Studying the neurobiological basis of neuropathic pain at the molecular, cellular and cognitive levels. Dr. Oh’s research aims to link specific gene targets to their effects on perceptual and emotional outcomes in the context of nerve injury-induced pain. Recently uncovered a hitherto unknown role of the TRPV1 receptor in mediating spinal disinhibition and mechanical pain behaviour after peripheral nerve injury and elucidated a mechanism supporting the effectiveness of centrally administered TRPV1 antagonist drugs in neuropathic pain. High-impact publications including Neuron, the Journal of Neuroscience, Pain and the Journal of Biochemistry as well as reviews and invited chapters in pain-related publications.   Systems & Cognitive Neuroscience unit     Sang-Hun Lee, Dept. of Brain and Cognitive Science, SNU  HOMEPAGE   The major goal of Dr. Lee’s research is to understand the neuronal mechanisms involved in the encoding of sensory inputs and the representation and decoding of relevant information from populations of active neurons. His laboratory combines fMRI, computational modeling and psychophysics to address how sensory and non-sensory information flows in the human brain are combined to contribute to decisive resolutions of perceptual choices under an environment with high degrees of uncertainty. High-impact publications in journals such as Nature, Science, Nature Neuroscience, PNAS and the Journal of Neuroscience. Recent computational neuroimaging studies of cortical point spread functions, choice probability, motion adaptation and time perception in the human visual cortex have been published in top journals in the cognitive/systems neuroscience field.   Inah Lee, Dept. of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, SNU  HOMEPAGE   The goals of Dr. Lee’s research are to elucidate how the brain learns a new event and retrieves an event memory effectively to produce adaptive behavior. Event memory under investigation includes object recognition memory, visual contextual memory, and object-place memory. His main techniques are to test rodents in memory tasks to uncover the functional relationships between brain areas and cognitive functions. Main techniques include perturbation techniques using drug injections and lesions. His lab also monitors the electrophysiological activities of a large number of single units simultaneously and local field potentials in freely moving animals. He has published articles in high-impact journals such as Nature, Science, Nature Neuroscience, Neuron, and The Journal of Neuroscience. Recent behavioral and neurophysiological studies for investigating neural networks (hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, striatum, and perirhinal cortex) pertaining to contextual choice behavior appeared in top-tier journals related to systems of neuroscience.   Randolph Blake, Dept. of Psychology, Vanderbilt University  HOMEPAGE   Studying important aspects of perception by blending psychophysics, neural modeling and brain imaging. Acknowledged as a world expert on rivalry and perceptual bistability. Devised clever, revealing "psychoanatomical" strategies for identifying the neural sites of action within human vision. Dr. Blake's work on the role of the temporal structure in spatial grouping is highly original and has sparked keen interest in that topic. His 1989 Psychological Review paper on rivalry, the most widely cited theoretical paper on that topic, stimulated an explosion of interest in the phenomena within cognitive neuroscience and neurophysiology. High-impact publications in Nature (13) and Science (9). His research impact factor is 61. Coauthor of a widely used textbook on perception (Blake & Sekular, 2005, Perception, McGraw-Hill) now in its fifth edition. Numerous prestigious awards, including Elected Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Science 2006; Earl Sutherland Award, 2000; APA, Early Career Award, 1977; Thomas Jefferson Award, 2008; IgNobel Prize, 2006; National Academy of Sciences, 2012.   Clinical Cognitive Neuroscience unit     Jun Soo Kwon, MD, PhD, Dept. of Psychiatry, SNU  HOMEPAGE   An expert in pathophysiology in the neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Extensive publications in journals such as JAMA Psychiatry and Biological Psychiatry with a total impact factor score exceeding 180 over the last three years. Served as a counselor for Collegium Internationale Neuro-Psychopharmacologicum (CINP), a first for Korea (2008~2012). Unit leader.   Chun Kee Chung, MD, PhD, Dept. of Neurosurgery, SNU   HOMEPAGE   An expert in brain function and anatomy, Dr. Chung is the Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery at the Seoul National University College of Medicine. He installed an MEG system in Korea for the first time. He has annually hosted a workshop about neural data analysis with invitations to internationally renowned researchers. His research interests cover motor-sensory networks, pain, epilepsy, motor planning, movement intention decoding, the auditory system, and language with numerous papers published.   Ki Woong Kim, MD, PhD, Dept. of Psychiatry, SNU  HOMEPAGE   Dr. Kim is an expert in geropsychiatry and serving as the director of the National Institute of Dementia and the president of the Korean Geriatric Psychoneuropharmacology (KCGP). His research areas are early diagnosis and intervention in cognitive disorders(dementia and mild cognitive impairment) and late-life depression. He is leading two community-based elderly cohort projects in Korea (the Korean Longitudinal Study on Health and Aging and the Korean Longitudinal Study on Cognitive Aging and Dementia). Published more than 160 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals, including Biological Psychiatry and Neurology and Stroke, and wrote 11 books on dementia and geriatric psychiatry.   Molecular/Imaging Unit     Bong-Kiun Kaang, Dept. of Biological Sciences, SNU  HOMEPAGE   One of the key leading neurobiologists in Korea with expertise on the molecular mechanism of synaptic plasticity and memory from multiple model systems such as Aplysia and mouse. His recent work on the molecular, cellular mechanism of synaptic plasticity and fear memory is providing a new view, unveiling novel, original molecular mechanisms of memory. High impact publications in Cell, Science, Neuron, PNAS. Papers on the functional implication of cAMP-PKA-CREB signaling pathway in Aplysia neurons, in collaboration with Dr.Eric Kandel (year 2000 Nobel Laureate, also his lifelong collaborator), had a great impact on molecular neurobiology field (Neuron, 1993; Science, 1993). Director of National Creative Research Initiative Center for memory; Editor-in-chief of on-line neuroscience journal, Molecular Brain.   Sang Jeong Kim, Dept. of Physiology, SNU College of Medicine  HOMEPAGE   Research focus on the cellular and molecular mechanisms of information storage and its related brain diseases by combining cutting-edge techniques such as patch clamping, Ca imaging, confocal mocroscopy, UVphotolysis and field/single unit recording from isolated neurons, brain slices and in-vivo animals. High impact publications in major journals such as Nature, Neuron, and Journal of Neuroscience, etc, making over 300 score of the total impact factor during last five years. Published a comprehensive review article in Neuron suggesting that ubiquitous synaptic plasticity is necessary to account for the rich phenomenon of memory storage in the neural network. Editorial board of the Journal of Neurophysiology.   Jae Sung Lee, Dept. of Nuclear Med. and Biomedical Sci., SNU  HOMEPAGE   Research aim is to develop innovative tools to analyze biomedical image data. Developed novel gamma-ray detectors which allow PET images with very high resolution and sensitivity (IEEE TNS, 2008). Developing an experimental system for truly simultaneous PET/MR imaging. Recipients of Young Investigator's Award, Korean Society of Medical and Biological Eng./Nucl. Med./Human Brain Mapp.(2004)