Yoonkey Nam, PhD


​Professor
Department of Bio and Brain Engineering (faculty page)
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)

Address:
​291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34141
Office: E16, Room 1007
Phone: +82-042-350-4322
Email: ynam (at) waist.ac.kr

Curriculum Vita (English) 
PubMed(link) Google Scholar (link) ORCID(link)
Research Area
  • Neural interface control
  • Neural recording and stimulation technology
  • Surface micro-patterning technology for neurobiology
  • Nano-neurotechnology
  • Neuron-based biosensor technology
  • Neural network dynamics
  • Neuro-Machine interface system
Education
  • Ph. D.  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Electrical Engineering, 2005    
  • M.S.    University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Electrical Engineering, 2003
  • B.S.      Seoul National University, Electrical Engineering, 1997
POSITIONS
  • 2020 - present  Professor, Dept. of Bio and Brain Engineering, KAIST
  • 2010 – 2020       Associate Professor, Dept. of Bio and Brain Engineering, KAIST
  • 2006 - 2010       Assistant Professor, Dept. of Bio and Brain Engineering, KAIST
  • 2013 – 2014        Visiting Scholar, Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA
  • 2005 - 2006       Post Doc., Dept. of Bioengineering, UIUC, USA
  • 2000 - 2005      Research Assistant, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering, UIUC, USA
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
  • Associate Editor, IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering (2010-2012, 2018 - present)
  • Editorial board member, Experimental Neurobiology (2018 - present)
  • Editorial board member, Journal of Biological Engineering Research (2010 - 2015)
  • Local Organizing Committee member, IEEE EMBC 2017 (2017)
  • Local Organizing Committee member, MicroTAS 2015 (2015)
  • Organizing Committee member, IBEC (International BioEngineering Conference) (2015)
  • Organizing Committee member, ISMM (International Symposium on Microchemistry and Microsystems) (2018)
  • International Scientific Program Committee of MEA Meeting (2016, 2018)
  • Chair of Academic Program Committee (Korea BioChip Society) (2016)
  • Chair of Academic Program Committee (Korean Society for Medical and Biological Engineering) (2010 -2011)
  • Chair of International Relationship Committee (Korean Society for Medical and Biological Engineering) (2017 - 2018)
HONORS & AWARDS
  • Best Paper Award (2018) by Korean Society of Medical & Biological Engineering (KOSOMBE)
  • 'The Top 100 Technologies and Leaders in 2025 Korea' (2017) by The National Academy of Engineering of Korea
  • Best Paper Award (2014) by National Research Foundation(NRF) & KOSOMBE
  • Early Career Achievement Award (2013) by The Korea BioChip Society
  • Young Investigator Awards in Biomedical Engineering (2011) by KOSOMBE
  • Excellent Collaboration in Research (2011) by KAIST
  • Outstanding Lecturer (2008) by KAIST
  • Outstanding Lecturer (2008, 2012, 2015, 2016) by Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, KAIST
Selected Publications

  1. S. Yoo, JH Park*, Y. Nam*, "Single-Cell Photothermal Neuromodulation for Functional Mapping of Neural Networks" ACS Nano. 2019 Jan 22;13(1):544-551.
  2. H. Kang, GH. Lee, H. Jung, JW Lee, ​​Y. Nam*, "Inkjet-Printed Bio-Functional Thermo-Plasmonic Interfaces for Patterned Neuromodulation", ACS Nano 2018;12(2);1128-38.
  3. J.W. Lee, H. Jung, H.H. Cho, J.H. Lee, Y. Nam*, "Gold nanostar-mediated neural activity control using plasmonic photothermal effects", Biomaterials. 2017 Oct 27.
  4. J.R. Ryu, M. J. Jang, Y. Jo, S. Joo, D.H. Lee, B.Y. Lee, Y. Nam*, W. Sun*,"Synaptic compartmentalization by micropatterned masking of a surface adhesive cue in cultured neurons", Biomaterials 2016 March 19; 92:46-56.
  5. Yoo S, Kim R, Park JH*, Nam Y*, “Electro-optical neural platform integrated with nanoplasmonic inhibition interface”, ACS Nano 2016 Mar 09;10(4);4274-81.
  6. Kang K, Park YS, Park M, Jang MJ, Kim SM, Lee J, Choi JY, Jung DH, Chang YT, Yoon MH*, Lee JS*, Nam Y*, and Choi IS*, "Axon-First Neuritogenesis on Vertical Nanowires", Nano Lett. 2016 Jan 13;16(1);675-80.
  7. Joo J, Liu X, Kotamraju VR, Rouslahti E, Nam Y, and Sailor MJ*. Gated Luminescence Imaging of Silicon Nanoparticles. ACS Nano, 2015 Jun 23;9(6):6233-41.
  8. Kang K, Joo S, Choi JY, Geum S, Hong S, Lee S,Kim YH, Kim S, Yoon M, Nam Y*, Lee K*, Lee H*, Choi IS*. Tissue-based metabolic labeling of polysialic acids in living primary hippocampal neurons. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 2015 Jan 20;112(3):E241-8.
  9. Yoo S, Hong S, Choi Y, Park JH*, Nam Y*. Photothermal inhibition of neural activity with near-infrared-sensitive transducers. ACS Nano. 2014 Aug 26;8(8):8040-9.
  10. Kang K, Yoon SY, Choi SE, Kim MH, Park M, Nam Y*, Lee JS*, Choi IS*. Cytoskeletal actin dynamics are involved in pitch-dependent neurite outgrowth on bead monolayers. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2014 Jun 10;53(24):6075-9. [Cover article]​