Jung Lab

The University of Texas Medical Branch
Research Building 17E, 5.124 (Office); 5.150 (Lab)
105 11th Street, Galveston, TX 77555-0642
P: (409) 266-0155
E: yojung@utmb.edu

During his doctoral studies under Professor Yong-Chul Kim at the Gwangju Institute of Science & Technology, Dr. Jung successfully completed several exceptional research projects and developed numerous novel compounds aimed at modulating pain responses. Significant progress included understanding structure-activity relationships and developing potent pyridine-based antagonists for the hP2X3 receptor, an ATP-gated ion channel subtype associated with the signaling of neuropathic pain. Additionally, he contributed to discovering optimal synergistic combinations and developing novel multifunctional compounds through mechanism-based anti-pain drug discovery efforts. These hypothesis-driven interdisciplinary approaches, coupled with his immense dedication and focused planning, led to a methodical and efficient small-molecule drug discovery strategy.

With the ambition to lead future drug discovery efforts, Dr. Jung joined Dr. Kenneth A. Jacobson’s laboratory at the NIH in 2018 to investigate purinergic GPCRs. At the NIH, he synthesized novel ligands for two P2Y receptors that respond to extracellular nucleotides: the P2Y6 and P2Y14 receptors, both of which are pro-inflammatory. Dr. Jung also made significant contributions to ongoing collaborative receptor projects. He designed and synthesized efficient small-molecule antagonists of the P2Y14 receptor, and his research findings have been reported in several prestigious peer-reviewed journals. The P2Y14 receptor design project that Dr. Jung led has paved the way for multiple development pathways, including using these novel probes in models of asthma and chronic neuropathic pain. Furthermore, he synthesized many analogs of nucleoside derivatives for the clinically significant A2A and A2B receptors, advancing their biological evaluation for screening.

As a Medicinal Chemist in Dr. Taosheng Chen’s laboratory at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Dr. Jung achieved considerable success, focusing on designing and developing efficient synthetic routes, optimizing reaction conditions, and advancing purification methods to synthesize and scale several small-molecule target compounds. He primarily focused on exploring innovative technologies, including the development of PROTACs, which conjugate target protein ligands to an E3 ubiquitin ligase via an optimized linker. Despite encountering numerous challenges, Dr. Jung made substantial contributions that have established a strong foundation for the future development of degraders in therapeutic applications.

In 2024, Dr. Jung was appointed as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurobiology and the Sealy Institute for Drug Discovery at the University of Texas Medical Branch. His research is focused on the design, synthesis, and development of bioavailable small molecules that target catastrophic diseases, with the aim of advancing therapeutic interventions in this critical area.