Sang Yup Lee Distinguished Professor     Dept. of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, KAIST Senior Vice President for Research, KAIST Head, Metabolic and Biomolecular Engineering National Research     Laboratory Director, BioProcess Engineering Research Center Director, Center for Synthetic Biology
		Phone    :	+82-42-350-3930
		Fax         :	+82-42-350-3910
		Address :	Dept. Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering , KAIST, (373-1, Guseong-Dong) 291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of KOREA

 

1. Research Interest

• Metabolic Engineering
• Systems biology/biotechnology
• Synthetic biology
• Biochemical engineering
• Nanobiotechnology
• Industrial biotechnology

2. Education

• 1986 (B.S.) Dept. of Chemical Engineering, Seoul National University,Seoul, Korea
• 1987 (M.S.) Dept. of Chemical Engineering, Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL, U.S.A
• 1991 (Ph.D.) Dept. of Chemical Engineering, Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL, U.S.A.

3. Academic Position

• 1994-1996, Assistant Professor, Dept. Chemical Engineering, KAIST
• 1997-2002, Associate Professor, Dept. Chemical Engineering, KAIST
• 2000-present, Director, BioProcess Engineering Research Center, KAIST
• 2002-present, Professor, Dept. Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, KAIST
• 2003-2024.6, Director, BioInformatics Research Center, KAIST
• 2003-2013, Adjunct Professor, Dept. Bio and Brain Engineering, KAIST
• 2004-2012, LG Chem Chair Professor
• 2004-present, Honorary Professor of University of Queensland
• 2005-present, Adjunct Professor, Australian Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotehnology
• 2005-2012, Special Advisor, Bioprocessing Technology Institute, Biopolis, Singapore
• 2006-2012, Co-director, KI for the BioCentury, KAIST
• 2007-present, KAIST Distinguished Professor
• 2007-present, Director, Center for Systems and Synthetic Biotechnology, KAIST
• 2008-2013, Adjunct Professor, Dept. of Biological Sciences, KAIST
• 2008-2013, Dean (Founding Dean), College of Life Science and Bioengineering, KAIST
• 2012-present, Honorary Professor, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
• 2013-2015, Dean, KAIST Institutes, KAIST
• 2013-present, Adjunct Professor, Technical University of Denmark
• 2013-present, Scientific Director, New Bioactive Compounds Section, Novo Nordisk Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark
• 2013-present, Advisory Professor, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), China
• 2013-present, Professor, Moon Soul Graduate School of Future Strategy, KAIST
• 2014.9-present, Honorary Professor, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
• 2014.9-present, Honorary Professor, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan, China
• 2014.10-present, Honorary Professor, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, China
• 2017.3-2021.2, Dean, KAIST Institutes, KAIST
• 2017.3-present, Director, KI-Space, KAIST
• 2017.7-2021, Director, the Fourth Industrial Revolution Intelligence Center, KAIST
• 2017.10-present, Honorary Professor, Jiangnan University, China
• 2017.10-present, Honorary Professor, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
• 2019.3-present, Honorary Professor, Ocean University of China, China
• 2019-2020, Honorary Chair Professor, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
• 2019-present, Director, Korea Policy Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, KAIST
• 2020, Vice President, Korean Society for Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Korea
• 2021.3-present, Senior Vice President for Research, KAIST, Korea
• 2023, President, Korean Society for Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Korea
• 2023.4-present, Chairman, Board of Trustees, KAIST MG Community Credit Cooperatives, Korea
• 2023.11-present, Honorary Professor, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
• 2024.4-present, Director, Center for Synthetic Biology, KAIST
• 2024.7-present, Director, KAIST-MERCK Research Center, KAIST

4. Academy Membership/Fellowship

• 2005 Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, USA
• 2007 Fellow of the Korean Academy of Science and Technology, Korea
• 2007 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, USA
• 2010 Fellow of the Society for Industrial Microbiology, USA
• 2010 International Member of the National Academy of Engineering, USA
• 2011 Fellow of the National Academy of Engineering Korea, Korea
• 2012 Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, USA
• 2013 Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, USA
• 2013 Fellow of the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), Italy
• 2017 International Member of the National Academy of Sciences, USA
• 2017 Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, USA
• 2021 Foreign Member of the Royal Society, UK
• 2023 Fellow of the Asia-Pacific Artificial Intelligence Association (AAIA)
• 2023 Foreign Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, China

5. Honors/Awards

• The First China-Korea Young Researcher's Award-Engineering Division, Chinese Ministry of Education, Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Korea-China Cultural Foundation, Korea (1996. 12. 26.)
• Excellent Academic Award, KAIST, Korea (1997. 2. 14.)
• The First Young Scientist's Award (Engineering), The President of the Republic of Korea, Korea (1998. 2. 12.)
• Selected as one of the 50 people (one of three in science and technology) who will lead Korea next century, Korea Daily Newspaper, Korea (1998. 8. 14.)
• New Academic Research Award, Korean Society for Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Korea (1998. 10. 16.)
• New Knowledge Leader in Science and Technology, The Ministry of Science and Technology, Korea (1999. 6. 7.)
• Top Two Author of the Most Cited SCI Journal Paper, The Ministry of Science and Technology, Korea (1999, 2000)
• Selected as a Key Person in the 21st Century, Sisa Journal, Korea (2000. 2. 10.)
• The First Elmer-Gaden Award, Biotechnology and Bioengineering (John Wiley & Sons, USA) - American Chemical Society (San Francisco National Meeting), USA (2000. 3. 27.)
• Citation Classic Award, ISI, USA (2000. 11. 2.)
• The Scientist of the Month Award, Ministry of Science and Technology, Korea (2001. 3. 12.)
• SeJongDaeWang Award - The Best Patent Award, Korean Intellectual Property office, Korea (2001. 4. 6.)
• National Science and Technology Medal, President of Korea, Korea (2001. 4. 21.)
• British Chevening Scholarship Award, British Government (2001. 6.)
• Author of the Two Papers That are Cited Most Times in Korea, Ministry of Science and Technology, Korea (2001)
• Junior Member, The Korean Academy of Science and Technology, Korea (2002 - 2006)
• Excellent Research Award, The 31st Ceremony of KAIST, Korea (2002. 2. 18.)
• Asian Young Leader/Asian Technology Pioneer, World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland (2002. 8. 23.)
• Excellent Patent Award (Patent #313134-Succinic Acid Production), Technology Transfer Center, KAIST, Korea (2002. 9.)
• IBM SUR Award, IBM, USA (2002. 11. 12.) – winning 7.5 million US$ Supercomputer together with Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, KAIST
• Professor of the Year Award, KAIST, Korea (2003. 1. 2.)
• New Leaders of Science and Technology 2003, Hankook Kyungjae Newspaper, Korea (2003. 1. 16.)
• Representative of New Asian Leaders, The Blue House (Meeting with President Roh Moo Hyun), Korea (2003. 6. 19.)
• "Scientist to Become" Award, Ministry of Science & Technology, Korea (2003. 7. 29.)
• The Best Research Award, KAIST, Korea (2004. 2. 16.)
• LG Chemicals Chair Professor, LG Chem. & KAIST, Korea (2004. 4. 12.)
• Honorary Professor, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia (2004. 6. 29.-present)
• Scientists of the Year 2004, JoongAng Daily Newspaper, Korea (2004. 12. 17.)
• The Best Paper Award, The 3rd Asia Pacific Bioinformatics conference, Singapore (2005. 1. 17.-21.)
• The 9th Young Engineer Award (2004), National Academy of Engineering Korea, Korea (2005. 3. 10.)
• "World Top Technology on Bacterial Factory", Hankook Kyeongje, Korea (2005. 4. 15.)
• Best Paper Award, Federation of Korean Microbiological Societies, Korea (2005. 10. 14.)
• 2005 Best Research 50 Award of Ministry of Science and Technology, Korea Science and Engineering Foundation, Korea (2005. 10. 28.)
• The Best 5 Research of Ministry of Science and Technology in 2004, Ministry of Science and Technology, Korea (2005)
• Junior Fellow, National Academy of Engineering Korea, Korea (2005-2010)
• Special Advisor, Bioprocessing Technology Institute, Biopolis, Singapore (2005-present)
• Fellow, American Academy of Microbiology, USA (2005-present)
• Medal for Distinguished Services, Korean Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Korea (2006. 5. 25.)
• Excellent Paper Award, Korean Biochip Society, Korea (2006. 6. 23)
• Scientist of the Year Award, Korean Science Reporters Association (KOSRA) , Korea (2006. 11. 30)
• 2003-2005 The 100 Best National R&D, "The genome sequence of the capnophilic rumen bacterium Mannheimia succiniciproducens, Nature Biotechnology" (pdf)
• Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, USA (2007 2. 17.)
• 33 Leaders who will lead the Korea, Munhwa Daily Newspaper, Korea (2007. 2. 28)
• Distinguished Professor, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Korea (2007. 3. 8)
• Best Paper Award, Asia Pacific Biochemical Engineering Conference 2007, Taiwan (2007.11.7)
• Fellow, Korean Academy of Science and Technology, Korea (2007.11.16)
• Succinic Acid Technology Selected as One of the "2006 Five Best Achievements in Science and Industrial Technology", The National Academy of Engineering of Korea, Korea (2007)
• Merck Award for Metabolic Engineering, Metabolic Engineering VII, Puerto Vallata, Mexico, by Merck, USA (2008.09.16)
• The Top 10 Registered Patents Award, Korean Intellectual Property Office, Korea (2009. 11. 13.)
• Foreign Associate, National Academy of Engineering, USA (2010. 2)
• Selected as "100 people who will lead Korea in 10 years", DongA Ilbo, Korea (2010.5.10.)
• 2010 Fellow Award, Society for Industrial Microbiology, San Francisco, USA (2010.8.)
• The Best Research Award, KAIST, Korea (2011.2.16)
• Fellow, National Academy of Engineering Korea, Korea (2011-present)
• POSCO TJ Park Science Prize, POSCO TJ Park Foundation, Korea (2011.03.22)
• 2011 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award, United States Environmental Protection Agency, USA (2011.6.20)
• Amgen Keynote Lectureship Award, Annual Meeting of the Society for Industrial Microbiology, New Orleans, USA (2011.7.24)
• Pirkey Lectureship, “Systems metabolic engineering of microorganisms for chemicals, fuels and materials”, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas Austin, Austin, TX, USA (2012.1.31)
• Paul C. Wilber Lectureship, “Systems metabolic engineering: strategies and practical applications”, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA (2012.2.1)
• Walter L. Robb Lectureship, “Systems metabolic engineering”, Department of Chemical Engineering, Penn State University, University Park, PA, USA (2012.2.6)
• 2012 KAIST Top 10 R&D Achievements, KAIST, Korea (2012.2.16)
• Marvin J. Johnson Award, American Chemical Society, USA (2012. 3. 27)
• Charles Thom Award, Society for Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology, Washington, DC, USA (2012.8.16)
• Fellow, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, USA (2012-present)
• Outstanding Contribution Award (on biotechnology), Minister for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (at the International Biotechnology Symposium, Daegu), Korea (2012.9.21)
• The Fifth Environmental Microbiology Lectureship Award, “Systems Metabolic Engineering for a Green Chemical Industry”, Society for Applied Microbiology-Wiley, Royal Society of Medicine, London, UK (2012.10.8)
• Orsted Lectureship, “Key enabling technologies for bio-based sustainable production of chemicals, fuels and materials”, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark (2012.10.12)
• Fellow, American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, USA (2013-present)
• Shanghai Jia Tong University Master Forum Lecture, "Sustainable Bio-based Production of Chemicals and Materials”, Shanghai Jia Tong University, Shanghai, China (2013.6.14)
• Amgen Biochemical Engineering Award, Beijing, China (2013.6.19)
• The 1st Jacobus van’t Hoff Lectureship Award, “Systems metabolic engineering of microorganisms for natural and non-natural chemicals”, Technical University of Delft, Delft, Netherlands (2013.11.13)
• The Best Scientist Award of the Year, Korea Science Journalist Association, Korea (2013.11.29)
• 2013 The 100 Best National R&D, "Metabolic engineering of Escherichia coli using synthetic small regulatory RNAs, Nature Biotechnology" (pdf)
• Grand Prize for Academic Excellence, KAIST, Korea (2014.02.14)
• 2013 KAIST Top 10 R&D Achievements, KAIST, Korea (2014.02.14)
• The Ho-Am Prize in Engineering, Ho-Am Foundation, Korea (2014.05.30)
• The Best National R&D Achievement in 2014, Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, Korea (2014.7.24)
• Institute for Genomic Biology Pioneers Lecture, “From metabolic engineering to systems metabolic engineering”, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA (2014.8.5)
• Inspiring Wisdom Distinguished Lecture, "Microbial metabolic engineering for chemicals and materials", Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China (2014.9.18)
• Luojia Lecture, "Metabolic engineering for bio-based sustainable chemical industry", Wuhan University, Wuhan, China (2014. 9. 23)
• 2014 The 100 Best National R&D, "Microbial production of shortchain alkanes, Nature" (pdf)
• National Order of Merit- Red Stripes from President of Korea, The 50th Invention Day Ceremony, Korea (2015.5.19)
• Guest Lecture, "Systems metabolic engineering for the bio-based production of engineering plastics monomers", University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Vienna, Austria (2015.7.28)
• Nature Biotechnology's Top 20 Translational Researchers of 2014 (2015.8.27)
• Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability Best Innovation Award 2015, Denmark (2015.8.31)
• Tiangong Distinguished Lecture, "Systems metabolic engineering for the bio-based production of chemicals and materials", Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Tianjin, China (2015.12.3)
• Sydney Brenner Distinguished Lecture, "Bio-based production of chemicals and materials from renewable resources", School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore (2016.1.4)
• Grand Prize in International Cooperation, Commemoration of the 45th Anniversary of Founding of KAIST, Korea (2016.02.17)
• CSIC (Spanish National Research Council) Lecture, “Systems metabolic engineering of microorganisms for realizing bio-based sustainable chemical industry”, CSIC, Madrid, Spain (2016.9.23)
• Achievement Award, 2016 Korean Society for Biotechnology and Bioengineering Fall Meeting and International Symposium, Gwangju, Korea, (2016.10.13)
• Tsinghua Forum Lecture, “The fourth industrial revolution and biotechnology”, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China (2016.10.31)
• 2016 James E. Bailey Award, Hilton Hotel Union Square, San Francisco, USA (2016.11.15)
• 2016 The 100 Best National R&D, "Systems strategies for developing industrial microbial strains, Nature Biotechnology" (pdf)
• Grand Prize in Overall Accomplishments, Commemoration of the 46th Anniversary of Founding of KAIST, Korea (2017.02.16)
• Foreign Associate, National Academy of Sciences, USA (2017-present)
• KAIST Excellent Research Award, Korea (2017.5.23)
• 2017 Korea Best Scientist and Technologist Award, President of Korea (2017.07.07)
• Chinese Academy of Sciences Distinguished Professor International Fellow (2017)
• BIOINN Lectureship, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (2017.10.24)
• 2017 Highly Cited Researcher, Clarivate (Thomson-Reuters ISI) (2017)
• 2017 The 100 Best National R&D, "One-step fermentative production of poly(lactate-coglycolate) from carbohydrates in Escherichia coli, Nature Biotechnology" (pdf)
• Sydney Brenner Distinguished Lecture, "Biotechnology to help achieve UN's sustainable development goals", Dept of Biochemistry, National University of Singapore, Singapore (2018.1.15)
• College of Engineering Distinguished Speaker Lecture Series, "Bio-based production of chemicals and materials", Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (2018.1.16)
• S-Oil, Grand Prize Advisor Award, S-Oil Excellent PhD Competition, Korea (2018.2.6)
• The Inaugural Chair’s Distinguished Lecture, "Systems metabolic engineering for the production of chemicals and materials", University of Washington, Department of Chemical Engineering, Seattle, WA, USA (2018.5.30)
• George Washington Carver Award, BIO World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology, USA (2018.7.18)
• Eni Award 2018 (Advanced Environmental Solutions), Palazzo del Quirinale, President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, Rome, Italy (2018.10.22)
• 2018 P.V. Danckwerts Memorial Lectureship, American Institute of Chemical Engineers-Chemical Engineering Science (Elsevier), “Biotechnology to help achieve the UN’s sustainable development goals”, 2018 AIChE Annual Meeting, Pittsburg, USA (2018.10.29)
• 2018 Highly Cited Researcher, Clarivate (Thomson-Reuters ISI) (2018.11.27)
• The NAEK Award (2018), The National Academy of Engineering of Korea, Korea (2019.3.19)
• 2019 SAMSON ‐ Israel Prime Minister's Prize for Innovation in Alternative Fuels and Smart Mobility, Tel Aviv, Israel (2019.10.28)
• 2019 Highly Cited Researcher, Clarivate (Thomson-Reuters ISI) (2019.12.3)
• CHC Award, Korean Society for Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Korea (2020.10.22)
• 2020 Highly Cited Researcher, Clarivate (Thomson-Reuters ISI) (2020.11.19)
• Charles D. Scott Award, Society for Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology, USA (2021.4.26)
• Innovation Award, Pony Chung Foundation, Korea (2021.8.18)
• Member, SigmaXi, USA (2021-present)
• 2021 Highly Cited Researcher, Clarivate (Thomson-Reuters ISI) (2021.11.17)
• Honorary Doctor, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark (2022.4.29)
• The National Academy of Sciences Award, The National Academy of Sciences, Korea (2022.9.16)
• 俊棠论坛 Juntang Forum Lecture, “Systems metabolic engineering of microorganisms”, Shanghai JiaoTong University and East China University of Science and Technology, online (2022.11.1)
• 2022 Highly Cited Researcher, Clarivate (Thomson-Reuters ISI) (2022.11.15)
• 2022 KAIST Impact Award (2022.12)
• The 2022 Top 10 Best KAIST Research. The work on “lutein production through metabolic engineering with electron channeling” selected as one of the 2022Top 10 Best KAIST Research (2023.5.16)
• Novozymes Award, Excellence in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Denmark (2023.6.2)
• Tiangong Forum Distinguished Lecture, "Metabolic engineering of bacteria for chemicals and natural products", Tiangong Forum, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Tianjin, China (2023.10.19)
• Inspiring Wisdom Distinguished Lecture, "Systems metabolic engineering for sustainability and health", Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China (2023.11.6)
• Named lecture, 俊棠论坛 Jun Tang Lecture, “Systems metabolic engineering of bacteria for chemicals and natural products”, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China (2023.11.8)
• 2023 Highly Cited Researcher, Clarivate (Thomson-Reuters ISI) (2023.11.15)
• 2023 KAIST Impact Award (Type I) - Achievement (2023.12.18)
• 2023 KAIST Impact Award (Type II) - Achievement (2023.12.18)
• KAIST Development Contribution Award (2023.12.20)
• SynBioBeta Pioneer Award, SynBioBeta 2024, USA (2024.5.8)
• 2024 KAIST Major Research Achievements in 14 Future Technology Areas (2024.5.21)
• Master Forum Lecture, “Systems Metabolic Engineering of Microorganisms”, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, China (2024.6.24)
• Bai Chuan Jiang Tang Commemorative Lecture, "Systems Metabolic Engineering of Microorganisms", Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China (2024.6.27)

6. Research Activity (as of November, 2024)

• Journal paper : 760 papers published
• Proceedings paper : 156 papers published
• Conference presentations/Abstracts : 2988 papers
• Patents : 841 including 573 international patents
• Books/Books Edited : 92 books
• Essays and Editorials : 191 essays
• Plenary/Keynote/Invited Lectures/Seminars : 661 presentations
• Newspaper/TV/Scientific News/Magazine : 5914 times

 

[Korean]