Cell Therapy 3 Center

Eunju Kang Director

CAREER

  • Department of Biomedical Science,
  • CHA University, Korea
  • Director, Center for Embryo & Stem Cell Research,
  • Director, Center for laboratory animal,
  • CHA Advanced Research Institute, Korea

BIOGRAPHY

  • Kang received her BA and Ph.D. in veterinary medicine school, Gyeongsang National University, South Korea in 2005 and 2010, respectively. She spent seven years as a postdoctoral fellow and a research associate under Shoukhrat Mitalipov, Ph.D. at the OHSU. In 2016, she started his independent research at ASAN medical center, Korea, and moved to CHA University, Korea in 2021.

    Her expertise is somatic or germ cell reprogramming such as nuclear transfer (SCNT) into oocytes and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). As a postdoctoral fellow and research associate under Dr. Mitalipov who investigated, the world’s first, human somatic cell nuclear transfer-embryonic stem cells (SCNT-ESCs) and mitochondrial replacement technique/therapy (MRT), she investigated mechanisms of mutations and dynamics of mitochondrial DNA in human iPSCs and MRT-ESCs.

    One of her research goals is to understand how the somatic diploid chromosomes can segregate into haploids. Until now, only germ cells can segregate 2n chromosomes to 1n. Now she is doing segregation of somatic 2n to 1n by mature oocytes in the mouse. This technique can apply to the treatment of infertility.

    Her other interest is hematopoietic stem cells derived from pluripotent stem cells, which can apply to many purposes such as differentiation into immune cells, treatment of anemia, and generation of humanized mice.