Organizing Team

Dr. Juhun Lee is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Radiology and Bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh. He received his PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin in 2014. Dr. Lee did his postdoctoral training in the Department of Radiology at the University of Pittsburgh for quantitative analysis of breast cancer imaging under the supervision of Dr. Robert M. Nishikawa. His research focuses on quantitative analysis of breast images using artificial intelligence and machine learning approaches. His research on AI/ML research on breast cancer care is currently supported by multiple grants from the National Cancer Institute, NIH. He is also a recipient of a R37 The Method to Extend Research in Time (MERIT) award for his breast cancer risk estimation research.

Soojung Claire Hur is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Department of Oncology at Johns Hopkins University. She earned her B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from UCLA in 2005, 2007, and 2011, respectively. Following her doctoral studies, she became one of two Rowland Fellows at the Rowland Institute, Harvard University, with five years of research funding.

Prior to her current position, Soojung managed clinical studies funded by Vortex Biosciences, Inc. as an assistant researcher at UCLA Department of Bioengineering. Her research at JHU spans various domains, including intrinsic cellular deformability measurement, CTC-derived ex vivo tumor model construction, and high-throughput single-cell assay development for early cancer diagnosis.

Soojung's accolades include the Edward K. Rice Outstanding Doctoral Student award, the inaugural 2018 Johnson and Johnson WiSTEM2D scholar award, the 2019 Susan G. Komen Career Catalyst Research Award, the 2023 JHU Catalyst Award, among others. She has co-authored 23 peer-reviewed journals, with four featured as journal covers, and holds 3 US and two international granted and 6 pending patents.

Juhyun Lee, Ph.D., is currently an associate professor of Bioengineering at UTA. Juhyun completed his B.S. in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Utah in 2010. He then attended USC and UCLA as a Master’s and Ph.D. Bioengineering student, respectively. After finishing his academic training, he worked as a biomedical engineer at Edward Lifesciences, specializing in artificial heart valves and hemodynamic monitoring devices. His research focuses on developing a novel microscopy system to study cardiac development by analyzing biomechanical effects. His research is supported by multiple American Heart Association (AHA), National Science Foundation (NSF), and National Institute of Health (NIH).

Dr. Estelle Park is an Assistant Professor in the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering at Purdue University. Dr. Park’s lab leads pioneering research at the intersection of stem cell biology and tissue engineering. Drawing upon recent advances in stem cell research, Dr. Park's research focuses on the development of human adult stem cell and pluripotent stem cell-derived organoid model systems. These sophisticated in vitro models faithfully recapitulate the developmental trajectories of human organs, resulting in complex multicellular tissue constructs that closely mimic the structure and function of living organs. Simultaneously, her lab explores the capabilities of organ-on-a-chip technology to engineer tissue constructs that emulate human organs with an unprecedented level of tissue complexity. Her laboratory is interested in integrating these two innovative methodologies and developing organoids-on-chips to elucidate the biochemical and biomechanical cues that govern tissue morphogenesis and maturation during development, and to identify biomarkers involved in this process for testing potential therapeutic targets in regenerative medicine.

Dr. Jungwook Paek is an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at State University of New York at Binghamton. His primary research focuses on developing microphysiological systems, particularly through organ-on-a-chip and organoid technologies to explore disease mechanisms in the human brain and respiratory system. Currently, Dr. Paek is expanding his research to include the recapitulation of electro-neural activity through in vitro neuron cultures interfaced with electronics, aiming to enhance the development of biological artificial intelligence (BAI). Previously, Dr. Paek was a research associate in the Department of Bioengineering at University of Pennsylvania, where he worked on in vitro modeling of human tissues and organs. Prior to his postdoctoral work, Dr. Paek received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Iowa State University with his primary research centered on the design, fabrication, and application of bio-inspired elastomeric microsystems.