Jang lab

Min Jee Jang, PhD

Principal Investigator

Assistant Professor, Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Affiliated Faculty, Neuroscience Program
Affiliated Faculty, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology

Dr. Min Jee Jang received her BS, MS and PhD in Bio and Brain Engineering at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), South Korea. After her short postdoctoral fellowship at Korea University College Medicine in South Korea, she moved to USA and received postdoctoral training under the mentorship of Dr. Viviana Gradinaru at California Institute of Technology as a Caltech BBE Divisional Fellow and NARSAD Young Investigator. In January 2024, she will start her new position as an Assistant Professor at UIUC BIOE. 

Min has been fascinated by the fundamental question: “How does the network of individual components gives rise to complex functions?”. Her initial research interests were involved in Brain-on-a-Chip technologies, with the aim of designing and implementing simplified neural circuit models in a dish. She invented many cell patterning techniques to control neuronal growth and developed computational tools for quantitative analysis of large-scale calcium imaging data. After joining Caltech, she expanded her research into in vivo and tool development, including tissue clearing, viral vector engineering and spatial transcriptomics, and developed high-throughput in situ assays for engineered viral vectors for cell-type targeted gene delivery and therapy. With a broad range of experience and expertise, she is now pursuing a comprehensive understanding of the brain at the genetic level and the development of innovative technologies to access and manipulate genetic components in vivo for human health and disease.

Ari Belotserkovsky

Graduate Student

Bioengineering @ UIUC

Ari obtained an Honours BSc degree in Neuroscience & Immunology from the University of Toronto. There, Ari further pursued an MSc degree in Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, where he developed a preclinical AAV-based gene knockout therapy as a treatment modality for prion diseases. Currently, as a doctoral candidate, Ari’s research focuses on engineering evolved promoters that can drive the expression of AAV-delivered cargo selectively in specific cell types within the CNS.

Haoyu Li

Graduate Student

Bioengineering @ UIUC

Haoyu received BS in Materials Science and Engineering, from UIUC and MS in Biomedical Engineering from Northwestern University. Haoyu has previously worked with biomaterial-based gene delivery and immunoengineering. His current research interests are in the area of vector engineering and targeted gene delivery and therapy. In his life, he is a basketball lover and a fan of the Lakers team.

Aparna Chauhan

Graduate Student

Bioengineering @ UIUC

Aparna holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology from Delhi Technological University, where she developed a keen interest in bioinformatics and computational biology. During her Master’s in Biomedical Engineering at IIT Bombay, she applied her coding skills to unravel the complexities of brain disorders and was instrumental in developing BrainProt. Additionally, she optimized targeted MS-based brain disease detection by creating a novel strategy for brain disease-specific proteotypic peptide scoring. Currently, as a doctoral candidate, her research focuses on leveraging her computational and biological expertise to design AAVs for CNS disorders and identify targets for gene delivery and therapy.

Bilal Karim

Undergraduate Student

Bioengineering @ UIUC
Neuroscience program @ UIUC

Bilal is a senior with hopes of pursuing an MD/PhD program. He is excited about the intersection of medicine, engineering, and innovation to develop robust therapeutics and point-of-care diagnostics, along with harnessing the combined power of multimodal optical microscopy and spectroscopy technologies alongside spatial transcriptomics to accelerate clinical care delivery and improve patient outcomes. Bilal is thrilled to be at the University of Illinois, a premier research institution that epitomizes multidisciplinary collaboration and interdisciplinary immersion.

Maddie Lawson

Undergraduate Student

Material Science and Engineering @ UIUC

Maddie is interested in developing biomaterials and tools that may be used in real world human healthcare. Maddie is also interested in developing my skills by conducting research with neurodegenerative diseases in Dr. Jang’s lab.

Natalie Witek

Undergraduate Student

Psychology @ UIUC

Abdullah Choudhry

Undergraduate Student

Bioengineering @ UIUC

Abdullah is a sophomore with an interest in therapeutics. He is looking forward to learning more about genetics and genetic engineering, and developing his technical skills by working within the Jang Lab.

Namjun Cho

Undergraduate Student

Bioengineering @ UIUC

Namjun is a Senior in the therapeutics track with an interest in neurodegenerative diseases and treatment routes such as AAVs and nanoparticle delivery. He has a passion for research, and is excited to learn more and contribute to the Jang Lab. His favorite food is anything containing noodles and enjoys playing soccer, piano, and chess.