Research Vision
Our laboratory works at the intersection of clinical pharmacology, population genetics, and metabolic disease epidemiology, with urate biology as our primary domain. We integrate Phase 1 clinical pharmacokinetics,
million-scale cross-ancestry genome-wide association studies, and Korean/East Asian cohort epidemiology into a single translational framework — a combination that defines our distinctive scientific identity.
Research Areas
Pharmacogenomics of Renal Urate Transporters
Mechanistic and translational investigation of urate transporter variants — including URAT1 (SLC22A12), GLUT9 (SLC2A9), and ABCG2 — and their pharmacogenomic impact on renal urate handling, hypouricemia, and response to urate-lowering therapy.
Cross-Ancestry Genetics of Serum Urate
Large-scale genome-wide association studies and trans-ethnic meta-analyses leveraging UK Biobank, the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study (KoGES), Biobank Japan, and the CKDGen Consortium to dissect the genetic architecture of serum urate across East Asian and European populations.
Molecular Epidemiology of Hypouricemia
A distinctive research line originating from incidental findings of asymptomatic hypouricemia during Phase 1 clinical trial screening — extending to the genetic basis, population prevalence, and clinical significance of hypouricemia in Korean and other East Asian populations.
Clinical Pharmacology of Urate-Lowering Therapeutics
First-in-human and Phase 1 pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies of novel urate-lowering agents, including next-generation URAT1 inhibitors, with integrated PK/PD and ODE-based mechanistic modeling.
Causal Inference in Urate–Cardiometabolic Disease
Two-sample and multivariable Mendelian randomization, polygenic risk scoring, and prospective cohort analyses to clarify the causal role of urate in gout, chronic kidney disease, cardiovascular outcomes, and insulin resistance (including the triglyceride-glucose index).
Urate Biology in Aging, Circadian, and Aerospace Physiology
Emerging investigations at the interface of urate metabolism and accelerated kidney aging, circadian regulation of renal urate transporters, and physiological adaptation under microgravity and extreme environments.
Digital Health and Personalized Urate Monitoring
Development of digital twin models trained on wearable biosensor data — including smart contact lenses — to enable device-free, personalized prediction of serum urate dynamics, integrating AI with pharmacological and physiological principles.