I am currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Bioengineering at the University of Washington in Seattle, U.S.A., working on computational biology. My thesis focuses on a comparative genomic approach to investigate mRNA processing in mammals, including alternative splicing (AS) and alternative promoters. The comparative genomic approach is regarded as one of the most powerful methods for large-scale studies of functionally important genomic signals by selectively identifying regions under purifying selection. The present study, constituting the first half of my thesis, investigates alternative mRNA splicing in terms of its diversified functions and relevant regulatory signals. The main function of AS is believed to be creation of multiple protein products from a single gene; however, a recent study by Lewis et al. suggests that AS may also produce non-functional mRNA transcripts on purpose to downregulate mRNA expression through a post-transcriptional process called nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD). It has remained challenging to determine whether or not such NMD-inducing AS is genuinely functional because the spliced transcripts share many sequence characteristics with non-functional mRNA isoforms caused by aberrant splicing or splicing error. Here, we have presented the first solid evidence that NMD-coupled AS is genuinely functional by measuring evolutionary constraints and demonstrated that they are prevalent in mammalian genes. Another important finding is that synonymous sites, also often called "silent" sites, in exons contribute to AS regulation and to the splicing of small constitutively spliced exons. This suggests that the widely-accepted notion that synonymous sites are non-functional and neutrally evolving should be reexamined. The remaining part of the paper discusses newly-discovered signals which appear to regulate mRNA splicing.

2. 본 연구가 이루어진 기관 또는 연구소에 관한 소개를 부탁드립니다.

The University of Washington has played a central role in creating technological innovations and in making theoretical advances in functional genomics, actively collaborating with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle - especially the Department of Genome Sciences, where my academic advisor Phil Green holds his appointment. The Department of Genome Sciences includes many pioneering scientists in genomics such as Phil Green, Robert Waterston, Maynard Olson, Evan Eichler, Stan Fields, and Mary-Claire King, and collaborates with others at the University including David Baker in Biochemistry and Elizabeth Thompson in Biostatistics.

3. 연구활동 하시면서 평소 느끼신 점 또는 자부심, 보람

It has been a great pleasure and honor that I can interact closely with such respected scientists. I believe that inspiration from relationship with them alone constitutes a sufficient reason enough for me to study here in Seattle.

4. 이 분야로 진학하려는 후배들 또는 유학준비생들에게 도움이 되는 말씀을 해 주신다면?

I would like to encourage students interested in computational biology to build a strong computer programming skills in powerful languages such as C and C++, because other simpler tools like Matlab or PERL are often unable to handle data sets large enough for genome-wide investigations. A solid background in statistics, genetics, and especially molecular evolution is also very important.

5. 연구활동과 관련된 앞으로의 계획이 있으시다면?

Among many of research directions that derive from my first project, I have currently been focusing on a computational study of alternative promoters in mammals, which is of great interest to many biologists. I am hoping to widen my research interests into other mRNA pre- and post-transcriptional processes including alternative poly-adenylation. This effort may help us to understand a broad spectrum of such "alternativeness" in mRNA processing, combinatorial interactions among the steps of mRNA processing, and eventually their biological consequences.

6. 다른 하시고 싶은 이야기들....

I appreciate your interest in my research and hope to have future opportunities to introduce the results of my ongoing studies to you.