KAIST announced that the research paper “Optical Imaging Techniques for the Study of Malaria,” written by Sangyeon Cho, an undergraduate senior from the Department of Chemistry, made the cover article for the February issue of Trends in Biotechnology, an affiliated journal to the world-renowned Cell. Although many undergraduate students’ papers get published these days, the publication of Cho’s work can be seen as a rare event considering the journal’s reputation.

Consisting of Soomin Kim from the Department of Physics, Youngchan Kim from the Institute for Optical Science and Technology and Professor Yongkeun Park from the Department of Physics as the adviser, the research team focused on reviewing various optical imaging methodologies for malaria.

Over three hundred million people suffer from malaria each year, but many of the mechanisms behind the disease remain unknown. Recently, there have been efforts to apply developments in optical imaging techniques to the field of biology.

The research team organized three different ways to approach malaria: In vitro optical imaging of infected red blood cells (iRBC) using exogenous labeling agents, in vitro optical imaging of iRBC within intrinsic optical signals, and in vivo optical imaging of malaria infection. They summarized recent progresses on relevant imaging techniques it is expected that the paper will help researchers to understand the malaria pathophysiology and prove useful in the diagnosis of the disease.

Ever since his enrollment in KAIST, Cho has been searching for research topics that catch his interest. During his sophomore year, he signed up for the Undergraduate Research Participation program and was awarded the Grand Prix. Also, he has worked with Professor Dongsup Kim from the Department of Bio and Brain Engineering and Yousung Jung from the Graduate School of EEWS. Aside from his academics, Cho founded KAIST’s natural science club KINS, and has been writing articles for KAIST Science, the College of Natural Science’s newsletter.

Cho said, “I got interested in research after participating in the SEE-KAIST program during high school. I applied to KAIST because I was looking for active interdisciplinary collaborations and a chance to conduct research as an undergraduate student. I was able to do research without any big obstacles thanks to the helpful advice from many of the professors and the school’s financial support.”

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