Hokyung “Kay” Chung is a synthetic biologist/immunologist whose passion lies in designer immunity. After majoring in pharmacy at Seoul National University, she pursued protein engineering at Stanford University as a PhD student in the lab of Prof. Michael Lin. She developed synthetic biology tools that can be actuated by chemical, light, or oncogenic signals. These tools enable safe and effective cell- or virus-based therapies for cancer. Kay then joined Prof. Sue Kaech’s immunology group at the Salk Institute in San Diego. She investigated how T cell differentiation is determined by both transcription factors and environmental cues to design “smarter” T cells. During her postdoctoral training, she received a Damon Runyon Cancer Research Fellowship and NIH K01 Career Development Award, and was a finalist for HHMI Hanna H. Gray Fellows program. Kay is now combining her interdisciplinary background at UNC Chapel Hill. Her lab focuses on clinically applicable synthetic biology platforms that can fully unleash the therapeutic potential of our immune system. Outside the lab, she enjoys walking her dog, Oli, and exploring the best coffee roasters in Chapel Hill.
