Jong-Ik Hwang is a Professor in the Department of Biomedical Science, Korea University College of Medicine. Before joining KUMC in 2006, Professor Hwang worked at the California Institute of Technology in the USA as a research associate studying GPCR signal transduction and RNA interference. In 2008, he started to publish papers on NF-kB activation mechanisms based on molecular interaction and since then, he has heavily focused on this subject and try to delineate the roles of NF-kB signaling in cancer progression. Recently, he is interested in chemokine receptor signaling in the immune system and cancer cell behavior. To define signaling pathways stimulated by the receptors, his lab developed new PPI (protein-protein interaction)-based assay systems including intracellular Ca +2 generation.

Now, using PPI-based assay, his lab tries to find some drug candidates in immune system regulation by targeting interleukins, and rare genetic diseases such as Gaucher and Emphysema. These works are supported by AI (artificial intelligence) -based virtual screening with protein structure. The lab has been maintaining a couple of master course students and a similar number of Ph.D. students for years, and now is leading the nation for leading-edge research on GPCR and signal transduction, and expand his research territory to Drug development.

Professor Hwang is also active socially. He has been deeply involved in establishing and managing an animal research center in KUMC. He has also collaborated with many medical doctors to improve medical research. He is now vice dean in research to lead administrative support for all professors in KUMC.