Development of novel bio-molecules and the discovery of disease makers and drug target genes through structural biology, biochemistry, and bioinformatics.
X-ray crystallography and molecular biology approaches to elucidate structural interactome including protein-protein interactions and protein-ligand binding mechanisms.
Bioinformatics and systems biology approaches to discover protein localization, protein interaction and targeting mechanisms of cell signaling molecules.
Systemic and quantitative analysis of molecular evolution and biological network to study cancer drug sensitivity and resistance mechanism to improve current drug developmental processes

New trends in life sciences are to improve the quality of life with conquering diseases based on basic science and interdisciplinary research.
The Molecular Medicine group of Department of Life Sciences, POSTECH leads various biological fields in the world from identification of diseases, immunity, cell signaling, and gene transcription/translation mechanism at cellular and molecular levels to development of diagnosis and therapeutics.
Our group is focusing on development of novel regulatory molecules and understanding of their function, development of vaccine and therapeutic agents for viral infection and inflammation by systematic integration of gene transcription and translation, understanding of defense mechanism and its principle.
And we eventually try to apply these scientific achievements to clinical treatments for allergic disease, autoimmune disease, transplantation, and etc.

Establishment of a complex organism from a single cell followed by growth and ageing is a major component in the life events and understanding of underlying mechanism touches the fundamentals of biology.
In the field of cell and developmental biology, we investigate the various biological phenomena at multiple levels from cell to organism using cutting-edge experimental techniques encompassing molecular, biochemical, genetic, and neurobiological approaches.
Based on the outcome, we attempt to provide useful information to elucidate the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the diseases caused by malfunction of the normal biological processes and to ultimately contribute to the advance of therapeutic approaches.

The Plant Sciences Group is actively pursuing to understand fundamental biological processes involved in plant development and growth from the stage of germination to that of senescence in model organisms.
We also aim to translate the basic and fundamental principles of plant systems into plant biotechnology for rebuilding crop traits and resolving environmental issues. The major research topics are as follows.
Using Arabidopsis, we are investigating the mechanisms of how eukaryotic cells produce their cellular proteins, in particular organellar proteins, and of how these cellular proteins are dynamically and spatially regulated at the molecular, biochemical, cellular, genetic levels in order to elucidate the functions and operating principles of various organelles, and ultimately to understand the operating principles of eukaryotic cells.
In addition, we would like to develop cellular tools and methods to reprogram plant cells to produce a large amount of valuable proteins and secondary metabolites. With an aim to contribute to the production of Biofuel, we are also investigating basic mechanisms of lipid production in plants and microalgae.
We identified several genes that can increase lipid content of seed oil, and continue our search of genes that confer heavy metal tolerance and oil accumulation in plant and microalgae. In addition, we are developing plants for phytoremediation, which can clean up contaminated sites in an environmentally-friendly and economic manner.
As the form and function of plants is mainly determined by efficient communication among cells, tissues and organs, and cross-talks with environmental stimuli, we aim to understand how plants integrate environmental cues into intrinsic developmental programs such as phytohormone signaling networks.
We are also investigating epigenetic regulations of the induced resistance against various pathogens in genome level, prompting to understand symbiotic interactions between plants and bacteria, and revealing how plants control cambial activities, vasculature development, and biomass production.
To this end, we are taking ‘systems biology’ approaches with interdisciplinary researches, which provides a comprehensive research tool to understand these complex interactions viewed as the keys to understanding life.

In Biomass track, we aim to provide the students with understanding of biological phenomena which can be utilized to make industrial platform.
We will offer various courses; to develop biomass production based on knowledge on plants, their microenvironment and resistance mechanisms; to develop biomaterial production using plants as bioreactors, which will lead to understanding of plant cell reprogramming and applied technologies; to produce new intriguing building blocks for material fabrication by biotechnical methods.
Through these courses, students will be familiarized with how we could utilize plants as bioenergy, environment recycling system, and as the next generation source for diverse biological materials.
Students will also be introduced to methods of isolating novel load bearing biomaterials from marine organisms or to understand the properties and performance of biomimetic, environmentally friendly materials.

POSTECH boasts one of the best research infrastructures for immunological research in the world and boasts one of the best research infrastructures for immunological research in the world and students study wide aspects of advanced immunology in this track.
The current research topics include the functional study of various immune cells in mucosal system, crosstalk between commensal bacteria and host immunity, innate immune receptor signaling and regulation, roles of transcription factors and epigenetic modification in immune regulation and tolerance induction, and hematopoietic stem cell homeostasis.
Students are provided with ample opportunities to meet and collaborate with top-notch immunologists worldwide for their thesis research. Students will also have a chance to witness the developmental process of novel therapeutic strategies that are based on the in-house research products.

All biological systems have developed their own signaling machinery within a cell or between cells.
To understand biological systems have developed their own signaling machinery within a cell or between cells. To understand broad range of molecular communications from basics to applications, we seek to elucidate molecular, cellular, and organismic signaling mechanism in diverse model systems such as neuronal system, stem cell, cancer and disease models. In this track, students can learn establishment of model system for brain function and emotional control mechanisms, roles of biomolecule in cancer, aging, and metabolism, disease progression in hypoxic and inflammatory microenvironment, genomewide signaling networks, and development of optical instrumentation for biomedical imaging.
Also students can have a chance to collaborate with foreign scholars involved in this track to broaden our research interests in depth, such as insulin signaling in diabetes, protein-protein-lipid interactions, gene regulatory mechanism for cell fate determination, and molecular network coordinating metabolism and cell growth.
Eventually we hope our research could contribute to healthy life without disease, medical care for health improvement, and life span extension.

This track offers introduction of the cutting-edge technology facilities.
For example, students will be exposed to the cutting-edge bio-imaging facility (BIACORE T100 Surface Plasmon Resonance instrument, Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence Microscope (TIRFM)) thereby one can visualize meso-level (between micrometer and nanometer scale) membrane trafficking and molecular interactions real time in live cells.
We are also equipped with the latest imaging technology, in vivo two-photon microscope where students can visualize information at the genetic and molecular levels at the same time, using live cells, organs, and various tissues. In aliition, we have the next generation DNA/RNA sequencing machine, Illumina Genome Sequence Analyzer IIx as well as microarray analyzers.
Through this course, students not only become familiarized with operating the above equipment but are also encouraged to develop novel imaging protocols by integrating various available techniques such as non-linear microscopy, optical coherence tomography, photoacoustic tomography, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and the world frontier 4th generation linear accelerator.