Associate Professor Jun Heon Lee

I have been an Associate Professor of Animal Genetics in the Department of Animal Science and Biotechnology at Chungnam National University in Korea since 2009 and currently I am acting as a Head of Department. I recently spent a 6 month sabbatical in 2009 in the Immunogenetics laboratory at the University of Michigan investigating Swine Leukocyte Antigen (SLA) variation and haplotype diversity in a range of pig breeds. My Molecular Genetics experience began as a PhD student (1997-2001) at the University of Sydney, Australia, and continued during a Post Doc (2001-2002) at the University of Illinois, USA. My research has focused on mapping and characterization of porcine endogenous retroviruses (PERVs), investigation of SLA diversity in pig breeds used for the biomedical research, and investigation of candidate genes for production traits in domestic animals, including pig and cattle. Recently, I became interested in traceability systems in animals using DNA markers. When I was a PhD student, I received two bursary awards (from ISAG in 2000 and International Congress for Xenotransplantation in 1999). I received the Best Presentation Award from Asian-Australasian Animal Production Societies in 2008 and in February 2010, the Best Research Award from the Korean Society of Animal Science and Technology. My background and experience in Animal Genetics will allow me to contribute effectively as a member of the Executive of the International Society for Animal Genetics. My accomplishments are already recognized by involvement in several Korean government projects on molecular genetics in animals. My research output has been reported in over 50 peer reviewed research articles in international journals, including Animal Genetics, and I have supervised 18 postgraduate students.