About Center
About Center
Introduction
Welcome to the Center for Neuroscience Imaging Research (CNIR) of the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) located at Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU)! IBS is a Korean-version Max Planck Society, and each center is a smaller version of Max Planck Institutes. The CNIR, which was created on July 1, 2023, is housed in a new building N Center at the SKKU’s Natural Science Campus (Suwon), and most center’s faculty members are affiliated with SKKU.
Our primary mission is to establish a top-notch multi-disciplinary cross-species neuroscience research center focusing on neurotechnology and the human and non-human primate brains from the perspectives of systems, cognitive, and computational neuroscience. We aim to unravel the mysteries of human brain functions in health and disease. To achieve these long-term goals, our center is organized into two Research Groups, Neuro Technology led by the Director myself (MR scientist), and Brain Sciences led by the Associate Director, Choong-wan Woo (cognitive neuroscientist), and five supporting Technical Cores (MRI, Animal Care, Optics, Histology, and IT).
Over the past 10 years, we have built CNIR as an internationally competitive and recognized center from scratch. We constructed a brand-new building in 2015 with rodent and non-human primate housing and labs, equipped with state-of-the-art ultrahigh field MR (including a human FDA-approved 7T Siemens Terra system and a rodent 15.2T Bruker MRI) and cellular-resolution optical facilities (including 2-photon microscopes). In addition, we have successfully recruited many rising young principal investigators as tenure-track SKKU professors. Our center has unique cross-species research platforms (mouse – non-human primate – human), which differentiate us from most neuroimaging centers around the world.
Our center fosters a diverse open academic/scientific culture similar to premier USA research centers or departments. Our students and researchers are encouraged to interact and collaborate with international scholars to achieve excellence in their research. We share our ultrahigh field MRI instruments with domestic users and open our seminars via Zoom to enhance neuroimaging research in Korea.
Please visit the CNIR and share your exciting research with us.
