Contact Information

E-Mail: Dr. Jonghoon Kang

Education

B.S. Biochemistry, Yonsei University (Korea)

M.S. Life Sciences, POSTECH (Korea)

Ph.D. Physiology and Biophysics, University of Texas Medical Branch

Post-doctoral training, Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech 

Courses Taught

BIOL 2010: Unifying Principles of Biology

Research Interests 

1. High-throughput screening of aptamers for drug development.

I have worked to develop therapeutic and diagnostic agents targeting biologically or biomedically important proteins, such as VEE virus capsid and TGF-beta 1 by performing a combinatorial selection of oligonucleotide analogues.

2. Heparin-protein and heparin-pathogen interactions.

Heparin is a macromolecule coating human cells. I have developed a new technique to study heparin-protein and heparin-bacteria interactions utilizing chemiluminescence. These interactions are important as they occur at the early stage of signal transduction and bacterial infection. Therefore, the method I have developed is expected to be widely used in the future.

3. Systems biology, thermodynamics and kinetics.

At present, I am studying nucleoside metabolism in mitochondria by using mathematical and computational techniques. Nucleoside metabolism in mitochondria is a critical component for the maintenance of the mitochondrial genome. The metabolism has a high degree of complexity so that insight alone is not enough to decipher the system. Therefore, a computational approach is greatly desirable to understand the system. A biomedical application of this study will lead to a quantitative understanding of mitochondrial toxicity caused by some nucleoside-analog drugs, which are used to treat HIV/AIDS. This study will enhance the understanding of nucleoside metabolism in mitochondria and pathological effects of the nucleoside analogs on mitochondria. I am also interested in the application of mathematics to diverse area of modern biology from protein sequence to evolution. I am also interested in thermodynamic and kinetic aspects of biochemical metabolism and signal transduction.

Publications

1. Kang J, Auerbach JD. Thermodynamic characterization of dissociation rate variations of human leukocyte antigen and peptide complexes. Mol Immunol. 2009. 46(15):2873-5.

2. Kang J, Lee MS, Gorenstein DG. The enhancement of PCR amplification of a random sequence DNA library by DMSO and betaine: application to in vitro combinatorial selection of aptamers. J Biochem Biophys Methods. 2005. 64(2):147-51.

3. Kang J, Lee MS, Gorenstein DG. Quantitative analysis of chemiluminescence signals using a cooled charge-coupled device camera. Anal Biochem. 2005. 345(1):66-71.

4. Kang J, Lee MS, Watowich SJ, Gorenstein DG. Chemiluminescence-based electrophoretic mobility shift assay of RNA-protein interactions: application to binding of viral capsid proteins to RNA. J Virol Methods. 2006. 131(2):155-9.

5. Kang J, Lee MS, Gorenstein DG. Chemiluminescence-based electrophoretic mobility shift assay of heparin-protein interactions. Anal Biochem. 2006. 349(1):156-8.

6. Kang J. Application of a cooled charge-coupled device (CCD) camera for the detection of chemiluminescence signal. Biologicals. 2007. 35(3):217.

7. Kang J, Lee MS, Gorenstein DG. Characterization of heparin-living bacteria interactions by chemiluminescence electrophoretic mobility shift assay. Anal Biochem. 2007. 363(2):312-4.

8. Kang J, Lee MS, Gorenstein DG. Application of RNase in the purification of RNA-binding proteins. Anal Biochem. 2007. 365(1):147-8.

9. Kang J, Tseng TT. Analysis of S-adenosylmethionine binding to Afsk, a protein kinase from Streptomyces coelicolor. FEMS Microbiol Lett. 2007. 271(1):1-2.

10. Kang J, Warren AS. Enthalpy-entropy compensation in the transition of a monospecific antibody towards antigen-binding promiscuity. Mol Immunol. 2007. 44(14):3623-4.

11. Kang J, Lee MS, Watowich SJ, Gorenstein DG. Combinatorial selection of a RNA thioaptamer that binds to Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus capsid protein. FEBS Lett. 2007. 581(13):2497-502.

12. Gwak YS, Kang J, Leem JW, Hulsebosch CE. Spinal AMPA receptor inhibition attenuates mechanical allodynia and neuronal hyperexcitability following spinal cord injury in rats. J Neurosci Res. 2007. 85(11):2352-9.

13. Kang J, Lee MS, Gorenstein DG. Magnesium ion is an effective inhibitor of the binding of Escherichia coli to heparin. J Microbiol Methods. 2007. 71(3):340-2.

14. Kang J, Warren AS. Thermodynamic analysis of additivity between the heavy and light chains in affinity maturation of an antibody. Mol Immunol. 2008. 45(1):304-5.

15. Kang J, Martins AM. The strong correlation between alkaline phosphatase activity and cell viability. Cell Biol Int. 2008. 32(1):163-4.

16. Kang J, Samuels DC. The evidence that the DNC (SLC25A19) is not the mitochondrial deoxyribonucleotide carrier. Mitochondrion. 2008. 8(2):103-8.

17. Kang J, Lee MS, Copland JA 3rd, Luxon BA, Gorenstein DG. Combinatorial selection of a single stranded DNA thioaptamer targeting TGF-beta1 protein. Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2008. 18(6):1835-9.

18. Fisher NR, Purnell CB, Kang J. 2011. Comment on Effect of Heating on the Stability of Quinolones in Milk. J Agric Food Chem. In Press.

19. Kang J, Patterson AK. 2011. Principal Component Analysis of mRNA Levels of Genes Related to Inflammation and Fibrosis in Rats Treated with TNBS or Glutamine. Inflamm Bowel Dis. In Press.

20. Kang J, Blalock GR, Dimitrov JD. 2011. Thermodynamic Analysis of Hepatitis C Virus Vitality in Syringes. J Infect Dis. In Press.

21. Kang J, Purnell CB. 2011. Implications for Undergraduate Education of Two Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences: Biochemistry and Biophysics. Cell Biol Educ. In Press.