Director

Director CHOI Young Ki

CHOI Young Ki is the director in the Center for Study of Emerging and Re-emerging Viruses at the Korea Virus Research Institute. Director Choi obtained his B.S and M.S. from the College of Veterinary Sciences at Chungnam National University and went on to receive a Ph.D. in Virology at the University of Minnesota. He has served as a professor at Chungbuk National University’s College of Medicine, where he conducted research on the mechanisms by which viruses infect hosts as well as vaccine development. His recent studies on COVID-19 have garnered much attention at home and abroad, which include establishing the animal model of COVID-19 infection and transmission, as well as studying the monoclonal antibody treatment for COVID-19.

Introduction

Study on emerging and re-emerging viruses (One Health approach)

• 1. Pathogenesis of novel variants of important viral pathogens: Novel virus identification, pathogenesis, and virulence marker investigation
• 2.Disease X and neglected tropical viral diseases including animal viruses: Characterization of pathogenic potentials and interspecies transmission mechanisms
• 3.Vector-borne zoonotic viral diseases: Mosquitoes and tick-borne mediated viral diseases
• 4.Novel control technology: Innovative diagnostic technology, development of novel platforms of therapeutics, and universal vaccines

Research Activities

The Center for Study of Emerging and Re-emerging Viruses aims to explore strategies to respond to future infectious disease outbreaks through studying virus propagation and transmission.

The Center’s research involves the characterization of human coronaviruses including SARS-CoV-2 variants, as well as other viruses that can cause infection in humans such as severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV), tick-borne viruses, avian influenza viruses, and others.

The Center’s research also focuses on expanding our knowledge on potentially dangerous zoonotic viruses (Disease X). By identifying previously neglected tropical viral diseases with epidemic and pandemic potential, studying known high-risk viral infections/diseases, and developing universal vaccine platform technology, the Center aims to prepare us against any Disease X that we may encounter in the future.