October 5 (Mon) - 7 (Wed), 2020

Professor Dae-Jin Yun received his Ph.D. degree in Plant Biochemistry from Kyoto University in 1994. Following his postdoctoral fellowship at Purdue University, he accepted a position as professor at Gyeongsang National University in 1998. Since 2017, he has been a Professor in the Department of Biomedical Science & Engineering at Konkuk University. In the past 23 years, Professor Yun has devoted his life to the study of “stress response and tolerant mechanism in plants” and is recognized as one of the world’s most influential researchers in the field of plant science (H-index of 58). Highlights and exceptional contributions to his field include the identification of key stress signaling proteins and the discovery of epigenetic control of cold and drought tolerance in plants. Furthermore, he has recently uncovered a missing link between flowering and stress adaptation, another important discovery in this research area. Additionally, Prof. Yun has organized a global research consortium and reported in Nature Genetics regarding the genome sequence of Thellungiella pavula, a close relative of Arabidopsis that shows extreme stress tolerance. He has published multiple papers in Nature Genetics, Molecular Cell, Nature Communications, Molecular Plant, PNAS, and more, amounting to a total of 228 publications. He was also an invited speaker of the Gordon Research Conference, Keystone Symposia, Max Planck Institute, UC Berkeley and other world-renowned universities and research institutions, amassing a total of 71 speaking events. Prof. Yun has consistently worked towards improving the field of plant science in Korea through his involvement in multiple programs. He has held director positions at World Class University (WCU) program, Brain Korea (BK) 21 program, and Global Research Lab (GRL). Currently, he is the President of the Korean Society of Plant Biologists. He is also the recipient of multiple awards, including best research award from Korean Society of Plant Biologists, best academic award from Korean Society of Plant Biotechnology, best research paper award from Korean Federation of Science & Technology, Macrogen scientist award from Korean Society for Molecular and Cellar Biology, and Cargill life science award from Korean Academy of Science and Technology. Supported by his achievements, Professor Yun was selected as a member of the Korean Academy of Science & Technology in 2012.