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POSTECH Life Science

KOR

Faculty

Professor
Sin Hyeog Im

LIFE SCIENCES

Sin Hyeog Im Professor

Immunology

ㆍLab
Lab. of Immune Regulation and Tolerance
ㆍDetail research field
Microbiome, Neuroimmunology, Autoimmunity, transcription factor in immune regulation
ㆍPhone
+82-54-279-2356
ㆍE-mail
iimsh@postech.ac.kr
ㆍHomepage
https://www.irt.postech.ac.kr/

Research introduction

Our body's immune system constantly faces the decision of whether to activate immune responses (immunity) or regulate (suppress) them (tolerance). When this finely tuned immune homeostasis is disrupted, various immune disorders arise. Particularly, immune hypersensitivity leads to allergic diseases such as atopic dermatitis and asthma, as well as autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and juvenile diabetes. Therefore, in our laboratory, we investigate the mechanisms underlying the maintenance of immune homeostasis at the molecular and cellular immunological levels. Specifically, we conduct research to develop and elucidate the mechanisms of action of gut-targeted immunomodulatory agents that can control immune hypersensitivity reactions.

Research Area

    1. Immune regulation and tolerance at the cellular and molecular level:
  • Role of Etsl transcription factor in the biogenesis of Treg cells,
  • Molecular and cellular mechanism of TFH and TFR cells generation in health and disease

  • 2. Molecular mechanism of IL-10 gene regulation in CD4 T cells and B cells:
  • Cross-talk between cis- and trans- acting factors

  • 3. Role of gut microbiota in the development of diverse immune disorders and elucidation of underling mechanism of action.
    4. Molecular mechanism of Treg cell or effector T cells generation induced by rationally selected bacteria: Identification of effector molecules and elucidation of underlying mechanism of action

Major publications

  • Exploring probiotic effector molecules and their mode of action in gut-immune interactions. FEMS Microbiology Reviews, 2023 Aug 4. fuad046, https://doi.org/10.1093/femsre/fuad046
  • Resolving the Mutually Exclusive Immune Responses of Chitosan with Nanomechanics and Immunological Assays. Adv Healthc Mater 2022 Apr 9;e2102667. doi: 10.1002/adhm.202102667.
  • Structural specificities of cell surface β-glucan polysaccharides determine commensal yeast-mediated immuno-modulatory activities. Nat Commun. 2021. June 14; 12(1):3611
  • Probiotics-derived metabolite ameliorates skin allergy by promoting differentiation of FOXP3+ regulatory T cells. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2021. 147 (4), 1517-1521
  • Harnessing the Bioresponsive Adhesion of Immuno-Bioglue for Enhanced Local Immune Checkpoint Blockade Therapy. Biomaterials. 2020: 263:120380
  • Of Men in Mice: The Development and Application of a Humanized Gnotobiotic Mouse Model for Microbiome Therapeutics. Exp Mol Med. 2020. Sep;52(9):1383-1396. doi.org/10.1038/s12276-020-0473-2. (Invited review).
  • Intestinal Microbiota Controls Acute Kidney Injury Severity by Immune Modulation. Kidney Int. 2020: S0085-2538(20)30553-6
  • Structural features and immunological perception of the cell surface glycans of Lactobacillus plantarum: a novel rhamnose-rich polysaccharide and teichoic acids. Carbohydr Polym. 2020; 233:115857.
  • Bifidobacterium bifidum presents on the cell surface a complex mixture of glucans and galactans with different immunological properties. Carbohydr Polym. 2019 Aug 15. 218:269-278.
  • Ets1 suppresses T follicular helper type 2 cell differentiation to halt the onset of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. Immunity. 2018, Dec; 49(6):1034-1048.
  • Inflammation-induced Id2 promotes plasticity in regulatory T cells. Nat Commun. 2018 Nov 9;9(1):4736
  • Cell surface polysaccharides of Bifidobacterium bifidum induce Foxp3+ regulatory T cells. Science Immunology. 2018 Oct 19;3(28). pii: eaat6975. doi: 10.1126/sciimmunol.aat6975.
  • Targeted Inhibition of the NCOA1/STAT6 Protein-Protein Interaction. J Am Chem Soc, 2017 Nov 15; 39(45):16056-16059 1.
  • Transcriptional repressor Capicua restrains follicular helper T cell differentiation and autoimmunity. Nature Commun. 2017, 16037 doi:10.1038/ncomms1603

Education

  • B.S., Korea Univ., Seoul, Korea (1987)
  • M.S., Korea Univ., Seoul, Korea (1989)
  • Ph.D., Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel (2001)

Career

  • 1991-1996 : Senior Research Scientist, Research Center of Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical Company, Seoul, Korea.
  • 2001-2003 : Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Pathology, Harvard Medical School
  • 2004-2008 : Assistant Professor, School of Life Sciences, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST)
  • 2008-2012 : Associate Professor, School of Life Sciences, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST)
  • 2012-2013 : Professor, School of Life Sciences, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST)
  • 2014-Present : Professor, Division of Integrative Biosciences and Biotechnology, POSTECH
  • 2014-2019 : Group leader & Acting director, Academy of microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Basic Science,
  • 2019-Present : CEO and founder, ImmunoBiome Inc.

Major Awards/Honors

  • Cancer Research Institute Fellowship (USA, 2001-2004)
  • Young Investigator Award by the Society of Biomedical Research (USA, 2003)
  • Top 100 Achievements of National R&D (Korean government, 2011)
  • Academic Research award (Korean Society for Molecular and Cellular Biology Academic Award, 2019)
  • KAI-Genexine Grand Achivement Awards (Korean Association of Immunologists Academic Award, 2020)

Major Research Achievements

  • Defining the role of transcription factors (Etsl and NFATl) in immune regulation
  • Discovery of the key cis- and trans-acting regulatory elements involved in IL-10 gene regulation
  • Rationally selected probiotics as an immune modulator for hyperimmune disorders (autoimmunity and allergic disorders) and cancer

Research Image

Sin Hyeog Im_Research image

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