IBB Integrative Biosciences & Biotechnology

Newsletter Spring 2010DivisionNews

CampusTalk

Accomplish-ments

Division held IBB Fall Symposium & IBB Immunobiology forumin fall semester, 2009 POSTECH visited Vietnam for presentation on departments'graduate courses from Nov. 3 to 5, 2009Division concluded Academic Cooperation Agreement withIFReC, Osaka University on Nov. 11, 2009.The Orientation course for IBB New graduate students heldfrom Jan. 4 to Feb.12, 2010Division held The 1st April Workshop on Membrane Biology atPOSTECH from April 8 to 9, 2010

POSTECH and WCU-IBB ProgramInterview with IBB professor Jonathan SprentTraining Experience in an overseas Laboratory IBB Laboratory Tour : Gastrointestinal Immunology laboratory

Faculty : Award & Honors / PublicationsGraduate : Award & Honors

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Division News

Division held IBB Fall Symposium & IBBImmunobiology forum in fall semester, 2009

IBB Fall Symposium was held at auditorium, POSTECH Biotech Center onOctober 29, 2009, and all faculty and students interested in the present-ed research topics attended. It started with an opening remark by division chairman, ProfessorInhwan Hwang and followed by the presentation of the following fourspeakers, Professor Per-Olof Berggren, Lisa Juntti-Berggren, You-Me Kimand Charles Surh. We invited one of speakers, Professor Juntti-Berggrenfrom Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.Division held 2009 IBB Immunobiology forum for the graduate studentsevery other Thursday, starting from October 8, at the conference room ofPOSTECH Biotech Center. It was hosted by the 3 IBB overseas facultymembers, Professor Jonathan Sprent, Charles Surh and You-Me Kim.Reflecting the special interests of the faculty members, this forum focus-es on T-cell biology, antigen presentation and innate immune system.Each forum began with a short introduction and presentation by the fac-ulty on a particular immunological problem and was followed by discus-sion with the selected topic. This was the first forum held by IBB divisionand well-received by attending students.

POSTECH visited Hanoi University of Technology and Vietnam NationalUniversity, Hanoi, Vietnam for presentation on the departments'gradu-ate courses of POSTECH from Nov. 3 to Nov. 5, 2009Total 15 departments including division of IBB were joined in the trip and,as representative of division of IBB, Professor Inhwan Hwang, chairmanof division, and You-Me Kim introduced IBB division and graduate cours-es to students. About 140 students interested in studying at POSTECH attended and col-lected more detailed information of graduate courses.As the result of this visit, total 4 students from Hanoi University ofTechnology applied for the internship program of the division scheduledfor 2010-spring semester and 2 students, Thi Thu Huyen Le and Vu AnhTuan, were successfully accepted by the division.

POSTECH visited Vietnam for presentation ongraduate course from Nov. 3 to Nov. 5, 2009

1. Together with all faculty members in the fair 2. Division Introduction

by Professor Inhwan Hwang

01 IBB POSTECH NEWSLETTER | Spring 2010

Division News

Division concluded Academic CooperationAgreement with IFReC, Osaka University on Nov. 11, 2009.

Division of Integrative Biosciences and Biotechnology (IBB) andDepartment of Life Science, and WPI Immunology Frontier ResearchCenter (IFReC), Osaka University signed on Academic CooperationAgreement on November 11, at POSTECH Biotech Center(PBC), POSTECH. For the ceremony, Professor Shizuo Akira, the director of IFReC, JunSakanoue and Takao Kodama visited POSTECH for 2 days.The ceremony started with the introduction of each party, then was fol-lowed by endorsement signed on the agreement by the representativesof each party.After the ceremony, Professor Shizuo Akira gave a seminar with the titleof 'Innate Immunity and Inflammation'at auditorium, PBC and it was agood opportunity for POSTECH faculty and student to meet the worlddistinguished and highly cited professor in the field of immunology. Under the agreement, both parties will promote the collaborativeresearch, lectures, symposiums, exchange of information and studentsto enhance educational and academic research.

About IFReC .............................................................................The Osaka University Immunology Frontier Research Center (IFReC) wasselected by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science,and Technology (MEXT) as one of the nation's five exclusive WorldPremier International (WPI). Established on the 1st of October 2007, thecenter was expected to engage in high level research that will make it aninternational leader in the field of immunology.

1. Ceremony of Academic Cooperation Agreement 2. Seminar by Professor Shizuo Akira

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IBB POSTECH NEWSLETTER | Spring 2010 02

Division News

The Orientation course for IBB New graduate students held from Jan. 4 to Feb.12, 2010

Before 2010-spring semester starts, Division of IBB held the orientation sessionfor IBB new graduate students on POSTECH campus from Jan. 4 to Feb.12, 2010. The purpose of this program is to encourage new graduate students to adaptto POSTECH campus life and give an opportunity to participate in theirresearch in advance. The program began with the opening ceremony of wel-coming message by division chairman professor Inhwan Hwang, and was fol-lowed by introductory presentation by professor Sung-Key Jang, self-introduc-tion of IBB faculty member and IBB students. The program was comprised ofmembership training for 2 days, interdisciplinary tours, distinguished scholarseminar & experiment and IBB Special lecture by one of IBB faculty, ProfessorPer-Olof Berggren. In carrying out a survey to ask about "what is the bestactivity among the programs" after the training course, most of the studentswere impressed by IBB membership training which was held in POSTECHtraining center located in Pyeong Hye for 2days. It provided IBB students anopportunity of knowing each other well and exchanging information.Out of total 18 IBB new graduate students, 16 students participated in thiscourse. Now, this new graduate students are taking the IBB graduate courseon POSTECH campus after the 2010 Matriculation Ceremony held in March 2,2010.

Division organized and supported the 1st April Workshop on Membrane Biology,held at Postech Biotech Center and Postech International Center , POSTECH for2days from April 8 to 9, 2010. We invited 29 speakers from home and overseasincluding 5 POSTECH Professors. The workshop began with opening remarks byProfessor Inhwan Hwang, chairman of IBB, and was followed by welcomingaddress & introduction by Yeon-Kyun Shin, one of international scholars in thedivision. About 150 researchers and students from universities and institutesattended the workshop and listened the presentations of their interested areas.All abstracts were collected in a brochure and distributed to the audience. It wasa good opportunity for all POSTECH faculty and students who are interested inthe research of membrane biology to know the current status of the researchand meet other researchers. Division expresses deep thanks to all speakers andattendees, specially thanks to Professor Taeyoung Yoon from KAIST andProfessor Yeon-Kyun Shin from Iowa State Univ. & POSTECH who made theireffort to organize this workshop from beginning to end.

Division held The 1st April Workshop on MembraneBiology at POSTECH from April 8 to 9, 2010

1. Together with all speakers in the workshop

2. Presentation in the workshop3. GyeongJu Tour after workshop

1. Welcoming message from the chair of IBB in the opening ceremony

2. Pyeong-Hye training center 3. Membership Training (Yeong-Deok wind

power generation complex)4. IBB special lecture by Prof. Per-Olof Berggren

03 IBB POSTECH NEWSLETTER | Spring 2010

POSTECH and WCU-IBB ProgramI am proud to be a member of the Integrative Biosciencesand Biotechnology (IBB) department as a ForeignProfessor since September 1, 2009 through the WorldClass University (WCU) program. I'm also very pleasedwith WCU for providing me with a mechanism to expandmy horizons and POSTECH for hosting me to carry out mywork. I consider my appointment in IBB to be a completion ofone of a few essential circles in my life. This is because Inow have a professional link back to my mother country,which I left in 1972 at the age of 11 when my familymoved from the suburbs of Seoul to the suburbs of LosAngeles. In the USA, I live near San Diego, where I havebeen since leaving home for college, except for 5 years inNorthern California to attend graduate school. I havebenefited tremendously from my bicultural background,as it has taught me to be open-minded and flexible, andto make the best of situations, while not forgetting thevirtues of traditions. One struggle, however, was tryingto maintain proficiency in two very dissimilar languages.Limited innate aptitude with languages meant that I hadto put extra effort in English at the expense of learningKorean, which unfortunately did not progress much fur-ther in the USA. Life is full of give-and-takes.Participation in the IBB department has provided me withtwo categories of benefits. Professionally, I have anopportunity to expand my scientific arena by performingadditional research projects that would not be possible inmy own primary laboratory at The Scripps ResearchInstitute (TSRI) in the USA. To this end, my laboratory inKorea has begun to set up a highly specialized animalfacility where mice completely devoid of germs can beraised and studied; this facility is not available at TSRI. Iam also planning to establish collaborations with my col-leagues at IBB, who I have found to be respected leadersin their fields. The graduate students and postdoctoralfellows are also excellent at POSTECH and I hope to workwith some of these talented students.On the personal front, I am very pleased to be gettingreacquainted with the modern Korea and making newfriends. While I have visited Korea multiple times duringthe past several years, these experiences are definitelydifferent from living and working for an extended period.I find the slow-paced life at POSTECH to be relaxing and

nurturing. The serene location of POSTECH on the hills,which is surrounded by great trails, away from the bustleof Pohang city is also a big plus. Moreover, the open cam-pus setting of POSTECH provides an enjoyable contrast toTSRI, which basically is a group of buildings. I enjoy theshort commutes to my office from the faculty apartmenton foot or on a bicycle instead of driving in traffic in SanDiego. In this regard, I am glad to be away from Seoul,which has one of the worst traffic problems. The accom-modations at POSTECH are also excellent. The renovatedfaculty apartments are just wonderful and the food onand around POSTECH is delectable. Korean food is myfavorite and among many great dishes I had in Pohang,hae-mool-tahng (sea food soup) and fresh sashimi standout.Above all, POSTECH is great because of its people. I wasattracted to POSTECH by two close friends, Dr. KwanYong Choi, who I met during graduate school, and Dr.Yong Chul Sung, who I have also known for many years.It's a real pleasure to interact closely with them again. Allthe professors in IBB are very friendly and I had a greattime making acquaintance with several of them. I lookforward to getting to know other professors in thefuture. IBB personnel Ms. Kim and Oh were very helpfuland made me feel especially welcome. I am also indebt-ed to the members of Dr. Sung¡¯s lab and my adminis-trative assistant Ms. Park for all their help. In addition, Iam very fortunate to have Dr. Jonathan Sprent, who is aclose friend from Australia, as a part-time professor ofIBB. We have had a long history of working together andI was delighted to interact with him again on a dailybasis. Everything was so fine at POSTECH last semester.About the only thing I missed was watching AmericanFootball games on TV.

Campus Talk

Written by Professor Charles Surh in the division

IBB POSTECH NEWSLETTER | Spring 2010 04

Jonathan Sprent, an adjunct professor of the Division ofIntegrative Biosciences and Biotechnology (IBB), spoke tothe Postech Times about his coming to POSTECH. He isone of the distinguished professors from overseas whocame to POSTECH supported by the nation's World ClassUniversity (WCU) program. Here are edited excerpts fromthe interview.

What is your research area?I work on various aspects of T cells, where they are pro-duced, how they are produced, how long they live for andhow they are activated. This is the general overview ofwhat I do.

How did you become a part of the WCU program?I was approached by the WCU program to participate.The idea is that the Korean government wants toincrease the profile of Korean science so they want tobasically try to recruit some people from overseas andimprove the overall quality of science. I am very happy to be a part of the WCU program. Theprogram has been very generous in terms of giving us labspace, providing us with quite a lot money to buy equip-ment and to make it possible to do high-quality research.So I am optimistic.

What do you expect from this program?In a way, I am here to recruit Korean graduates and post-docs. In my point of view, this allows to build a scientificbridge by building a satellite lab between Australia andPOSTECH. I hope there are opportunities where some of

the students here can work in my lab in Sydney.Conversely, some of the people in Australia might comeover here.

How did you come to POSTECH?It wasn't that I chose POSTECH, it was more thatPOSTECH chose me. I had interactions with POSTECH inthe past and I've been coming to Korea on and off for thelast 20 years.

What impression did you have of Korean students?I thought that Korean students are taught pretty well.But as you know, English is the language of science andbeing able to communicate in English is very important.It is my impression that Korean students can read Englishvery well but they have problems in speaking it. But Ithink this is something that will improve with time.

Any last words?What I would like to see from Korean students is that ifyou want to be an effective scientist, you have to do sci-ence for its own sake. Your goal has to be to become agood scientist, not to cure diseases or become a profes-sor. The best way to do that is probably to go overseas,work in successful laboratories, publish some papers andthen come back to Korea. Many excellent Korean Post-docs go to the U.S or Europe and they don't go backagain. In order for them to come back, they need to cometo an environment that values them for their capacity todo science rather than to become a bureaucrat. They alsoneed to be financially well-supported so that they can doeffective science. And students need to continuouslyinteract with scientists from other countries and go toconferences. This has worked very well in Japan andJapan has been very successful in the field of science.Since there are certain parallels between Korea andJapan, I see no reason as to why Korea cannot do it.I believe that this is the reason why the WCU programwas developed in the first place; to encourage peoplefrom overseas to develop a culture where curiosity-drivenresearch is going to become more prominent.

What I expect from Korean StudentsProf. Jonathan Sprent

Campus Talk

This is the article on The POSTECH times which was published on Nov.18, 2009interviewIBBProfessor

with

05 IBB POSTECH NEWSLETTER | Spring 2010

Training Experience in an overseas Laboratory To participate in the first Bio-Fair at POSTECH is the mainreason why I applied for and has taken the IBB graduatecourse. When I was a senior student in my university, I hadkept agonizing over which lab group I had to join for myfuture career. While I was participating in the fair atPOSTECH, I found life science didn't have just a narrowviewpoint and it could go on to become integrative studyinvolved in diverse areas. Thanks to the POSTECH Bio-Fair,I also had an opportunity to take my internship programat POSTECH.It has been fascinating to me that many biologicalresponses happen nearby plasma membrane. So I decidedto apply for and enter a Prof. Cho's lab studying the inter-action between lipids and proteins in a comprehensiveperspective in the last fall semester, 2009.I came close to spend the first semester without Prof. Chobecause he should stay in the other lab located in Chicago,U.S.A. But thanks to his special consideration, I had beenable to receive the training at the laboratory in Chicagofor 2 months with utmost support of WCU-IBB program.There were exciting and thrilling days to me which I hadnever had this experience overseas before. I began tolearn techniques ranging from basic cloning to SPR analy-sis which showed lipid-protein and protein-protein inter-action in detail by the help of Prof. Cho and Ph. D. candi-date Yoon.Especially it was a very good opportunity for me to learnhow to operate SPR machine and how to design experi-ments using SPR from skilled researchers in well set-uplab. Prof. Cho gave me a seat to take a biochemistry lec-ture of the graduate course. Although I had taken the lec-ture for only two months, I felt as if I was studying abroadin U.S.A. with various students from all over the world.I didn't forget to spend spare time going sightseeingChicago city, of course. Having planned that training inhasty, I was not able to prepare enough to trip to Chicago.But I found the way with a map and looked around someattraction spots. I talked with local people and sometimesI looked like becoming a backpack traveler. The invaluableexperiences I underwent in Chicago have presented sucha wide and flexible thinking to me.What I have experienced in Prof. Cho's labs at bothPOSTECH and Chicago was fairly impressive and worthy. IBB program is progressing in Korea and allows me to

have an opportunity to study abroad. So it brings theeffect of killing two birds with one stone. Furthermore, IBBprogram gives all faculties and students the opportunitiesto meet many people who are from all around the worldwith variable backgrounds but have same goals.Currently I am researching a project collaborating withProf. Ryu at POSTECH and keeping in touch withresearchers at Prof. Cho's lab in Chicago in connectionwith SPR analysis. As a first-term graduate student of IBB,I hope that IBB brings about innovation in the science andtechnology field without any limitation of study field andregion.

Campus Talk

Written by Mi-Jeong Park whohas taken the IBB graduatecourse since the fall semester,2009.

1. Chicago city sightseeing 2. Lab. meeting

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IBB POSTECH NEWSLETTER | Spring 2010 06

Laboratory newsUnique function of antigen-presenting cells (dendritic cells,macrophages, eosinophils) in mucosal immune systemDesign of effective tumor-immunotherapyDevelopment of new mucosal drug delivery systemBio-imaging

Although it has been recently highlighted that the small intestinallamina propria (LP) serves both effector (IgA secretion and Th17)and regulator (oral tolerance and Treg) functions in the mucosalimmune systems, it remains elusive how these apparently oppos-ing functions are regulated in situ. Antigen presenting cells (APCs)are principal constituents of the immune system and play pivotalroles in the induction and maintenance of antigen-specificimmune responses including self-tolerance. CD11c+ APCs are abun-dant in the small intestinal LP, where they appear to act as sen-tinels for incoming antigens. The precise discrimination betweenharmless antigens and dangerous pathogens by these APCs is alikely key mechanism for the maintenance of gut immune home-ostasis. Our laboratory's cardinal aim is to elucidate how intestinalAPCs discriminate between dangerous pathogens and harmlessantigens at the mucosal suface.If interested or for laboratory visit, please call 82-54-279-8745 oremail to yangbg@postech.ac.kr

Gastrointestinal Immunology laboratory

Campus Talk

This section is to introduce newly set-up IBB laboratories.

LocationRoom 280, Biotech Center

Research area Mucosal Immunology

MemberProfessor : Myoung-Ho JangResearch Assistant Professor

: Bo-Gie Yang Researcher : Go-Eun Lee,

Chun-Pyo Hong, Jung-Hwan Kim, Bo-Su Jeong, Mi-Ju Kim

Secretary : Hyo-Jung Lee

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IBB Lab.Tour

07 IBB POSTECH NEWSLETTER | Spring 2010

PublicationsAwards & Honors

Charles Surh & Jonathan SprentSurh CD, Sprent J. Glimpsing the real CD4+ T cell response. Nat Immunol.11(1):47-49(2010).Cho JH, Kim HO, Surh CD, Sprent J. TCR-dependent regulation of lipidrafts controls naive CD8+ T cell homeostasis. Immunity. In press (2010)Letourneau S, van Leeuwen EMM, Krieg C, Martin C, Pantaleo G, Sprent J,Surh CD, Boyman O. IL-2/anti-IL-2 antibody complexes show strong bio-logical activity by avoiding interaction with IL-2 receptor ? subunit CD25.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. In press(2010)

Jonathan SprentMcGuire H, Vogelzang A, Hill N, Flodstrom-Tullberg M, Sprent J, King C. Aloss of parity between the linked alleles, Il2 and Il21, in autoimmunity.PNAS. 106:19438-43 (2009).

Per-Olof BerggrenNephrin is expressed on the surface of insulin vesicles and facilities glu-cose-stimulated insulin release. A FORNONI, J JEON, JV SANTOS, LCOBIANCHI, A JAUREGUI, L INVERARDI, SA MANDIC, C BARK, K JOHNSON,G MCNAMARA, A PILEGGI, RD MOLANO, J REISER, K TRYGGVASON, D KER-JASCHKI, P-O BERGGREN, P MUNDEL & C RICORDI. Diabetes 59:190-199(2010)Insulin-feedback via PI3K-C2? activated PKB?/Akt1 is required for glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. B LEIBIGER, T MOEDE, S UHLES, CJ BARKER,M CREVEAUX, J DOMIN, P-O BERGGREN & IB LEIBIGER. FASEB J. fj. 09-148072. Published online January 8, 2010.Diphosphoinositol polyphosphates and energy metabolism: Assay forATP/ADP ratio. A NAGEN, CJ BARKER, P-O BERGGREN, C ILLIES. In: InositolPhosphates and Lipids: Methods and Protocols (ed. CJ Barker). HumanaPress Methods in Molecular Biology. In press (2010)The role of inositol and the principals of labeling, extraction and analysisof inositides in mammalian cells. CJ BARKER & P-O BERGGREN. In:Inositol Phosphates and Lipids: Methods and Protocols. (ed. CJ Barker).Humana press Methods in Molecular Biology. In press(2010)HPLC separation os inositol polyphosphates. CJ BARKER, C ILLIES & P-OBERGGREN. In: Inositol Phosphates and Lipids: Methods and Protocols.(ed. CJ Barker). Humana press Methods in Molecular Biology. Inpress(2010).

GunBae LimBumjoo Kim, Intae Kim, Sang W. Joo and Geunbae Lim"Electrohydrodynamic repulsion of droplets falling on an insulating sub-strate in an electric field"vol95., 204106, (2009) : Applied Physics Letters published on line 16november, 2009

Accomplishments > Faculty

Professor Charles Surh got anappointment of AmericanAssociation of Immunologists(AAI) Program Committee forthree years.

Professor Per-Olof Berggrenreceived DistinguishedProfessor Award, 2010 fromKarolinska Institutet inSweden

Professor Jonathan Sprentreceived the AchievementAward as the Top RankedNHMRC (The National Healthand Medical ResearchCouncil- Australia's leadingfunding body for health andmedical research) ResearchFellow for 2010.

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IBB POSTECH NEWSLETTER | Spring 2010 08

IBBDivision of Integrative Biosciences and Biotechnology, POSTECHSan 31, Hyojadong, Namgu, Pohang, Kyungbuk, Republic of Korea 790-784 homepage : www.postech.ac.kr/ibbTel. +82-54-279-8282~8283 | Fax. +82-54-279-2199 | e-mail: jinny@postech.ac.kr, seunga@postech.ac.kr

Awards & Honors

POSTECH awarded the TJ Park Graduate Fellowship and PostdoctoralFellowship to 22 selected people on Feb. 16, 2010. Division graduate stu-dents, Hye-Won Lee and Moon-Cheol Kang were included among the 2010TJ Park Graduate Fellowship awardees.

Accomplishments > Graduate

About TJ Park Graduate FellowshipThe TJ Park Graduate Fellowship was established in 2008 to encourageoutstanding individuals to take up careers in the science and technologyfields, and offers the selected graduate students a maximum of 25 millionwon a year for three years. This is the highest in the country among self-ordained scholarships by a university

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