Yunji Shin: Plant Physiology First Author

Yunji Shin, first author of Proper protein folding in the endoplasmic reticulum is required for attachment of a glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor in plants 

Current Position: Post-Doctoral Researcher in Molecular Breeding Division, Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, National Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Republic of Korea

Education: M.S. in Biology at the Jeonbuk National University; Ph.D. in Molecular Biology at the Jeonbuk National University, Republic of Korea

Non-scientific Interests: Reading, travel, hiking

Brief bio:

During my Master’s thesis I involved in establishment of high-level expression system for therapeutical protein production using rice cell suspension culture. Despite the successful outcomes, there were limitations to apply plant-produced proteins to human for therapeutical purpose due to the glycosylation difference between plant and human. Since my Ph.D., I have interested in plant glycosylation pathway and glyco-engineering towards the humanization of plant N-glycans to generate rice knockout lines lacking plant-specific N-glycans. In 2014, I had the great opportunity of working with Richard Strasser at BOKU, Vienna, Austria as a Post-doctoral research associate and was primarily participating in characterization of the glycan-dependent ERAD pathway in Arabidopsis thaliana. Working at BOKU Vienna broadened my understanding of the endoplasmic reticulum, plant N-glycosylation, and the processes how different types of misfolded proteins are recognized and subsequently degraded to maintain cellular homeostasis. My current work focuses on molecular breeding of pathogen-resistant rice varieties.