Prof. Hee-Sup Shin, with an MD from Seoul National University Medical College (1974) and a Cornell University Medical College PhD in genetics and cell biology (1983), has taught at MIT (USA) and POSTECH (Korea). He was the founding Director of Brain Science Institute, KIST, and then Director of Center for Cognition and Sociality, IBS. After stepping down from the directorship of the Center for Cognition and Sociality, he continues his research as an Honorary Fellow of IBS. He has been using molecular genetics to study neural mechanisms for animal behaviors, primarily focusing on the role of the thalamus in normal and diseased brains. His interest was on the regulation of intracellular Ca2+ levels in brain cells. He utilized gene knock-out tools on genes such as voltage-gated Ca2+ channels and PLC enzymes. Since 2010, his research interest has evolved to neurobiology of social behaviors. He has pioneered to establish a behavioral paradigm, observational fear learning in mice, a rodent model for emotional contagion, basic form of affective empathy. This paradigm allowed, for the first time, to study affective empathy at the molecular and cellular levels. Prof Shin’s contribution to science has been recognized globally by multiple honors that include being elected to be a member of the National Academy of Science, Republic of Korea, an international member of the National Academy of Science, USA, and an AAAS Fellow.

13 June 2024