Hyung-Lok Chung, Ph.D.
Mitochondrial dynamics, lipid signaling, and neurological disease
Principal Investigator, Chung Lab
Assistant Professor (Tenure-Track) at Houston Methodist Academic Institute and Weill Cornell Medical College.
Director, Drosophila Functional Genomics Core
Houston Methodist Research Institute
Research & background
Dr. Chung studies how mitochondrial dynamics and glial lipid signaling contribute to neurological disease. His lab investigates CDK19-associated mitochondrial regulation and the links between lipid metabolism, glial function, and neuroinflammation.
He earned his B.S. and Ph.D. at KAIST and completed research training at Baylor College of Medicine, where he was a Warren Alpert Distinguished Scholar. He joined Houston Methodist in 2023.
Education & research training
2021–2023
Warren Alpert Distinguished Scholar
Baylor College of Medicine
2019–2021
Research Associate
Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Baylor College of Medicine
2016–2019
Postdoctoral Fellow
Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine
2016
Ph.D., Biological Science
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
2011
B.S. (Honors), Biological Science
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
Honors, awards & fellowships
2024
President’s Award for Excellence in Peer-Reviewed Publication
Houston Methodist Academic Institute
2023
Tong H. Joh Research Innovation Award
Association of Korean Neuroscientists
2023
President’s Award for Excellence in Peer-Reviewed Publication
Houston Methodist Academic Institute
2021–2023
Warren Alpert Distinguished Scholar & Career Transition Award
Warren Alpert Foundation
Earlier awards & fellowships (8)
2021
Dean’s Award
Baylor College of Medicine
2021
Best Paper Award
Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine
2018
Best Talk Award
12th KSEA West Gulf Coast Regional Conference, MD Anderson
2017–2018
Global Postdoc Fellowship
National Research Foundation, Korea
2016
Best Talk Award
10th KSEA West Gulf Coast Regional Conference, MD Anderson
2016
Best Doctoral Thesis Award
Department of Biological Science, KAIST
2014
Outstanding Research Award
Department of Biological Science, KAIST
2011–2016
Graduate Student Full-Scholarship
KAIST