Founded the framework for cell signaling research and pioneered the field of redox biology
Contributed to strengthening the foundation for life science in Korea by training next generation of students
Sue Goo Rhee
Chair Professor, Ewha Womans University
(1943~Present)
- Academic background
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1965
Graduated from Seoul National University, Department of Chemistry
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1972
Ph. D. in Organic Chemistry, Catholic University of America
- career
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1973~2005
Postdoctoral fellow, staff scientist, and senior biochemist (tenured) (1973-1988),
head of Signal Transduction Section (1988-1994),
head of the Laboratory for Cell Signaling (1994-2005) and Senior Biomedical Research Service (1996-2005) at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
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2005~2013
Chair Professor, Department of Biopharmaceutical Sciences Director, Institute for Molecular Biotechnology of Ewha Womans University
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2013~Present
Chair Professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Yonsei University
Director, Yonsei Institute for Biomedical Research, Yonsei University Medical Center (2013-2015)
Visiting Professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences (2017-present)
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2015~2017
President, Institute for Basic Science (IBS)
- Awards received
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1991
Director's Award, National Institutes of Health (NIH) of USA
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2005
Discovery Award, Society for Free Radical Biology (SFRBM)
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2006
Selected as the 1st National Scientist of the Republic of Korea
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2013
Recipient of the Knowledge Award by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning
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2014
California Oxigen Club and Jarro Formulas Health Science Award
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2021
Designated as a “Redox Pioneer” by the International Society of Free Radical Oxygen
Professor Sue Goo Rhee is a distinguished life scientist renowned for his exceptional contribution to the world of research, where he particularly delivered world-class findings in the fields of cell signaling and redox biology. He also played a pivotal role in advancing Korean life sciences by training a new generation of students both in the United States and Korea.
Born in Seoul, Korea, Professor Rhee graduated from the College of Arts and Sciences at Seoul National University in 1965 with a degree in chemistry. He then pursued his Ph.D. in organic chemistry at the Catholic University of America, completing his studies in 1972 under the mentorship of chemist John J. Eisch. The following year, Professor Rhee began his career as a postdoctoral fellow in the biochemistry laboratory at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland. From 1988, he served as the head of the Signal Transduction Section of the Biochemistry Laboratory for six years. In 1994, he became the director of the newly established Cell Signaling Laboratory. Initially focused on the glutamine synthetase system in Escherichia coli during his early years at NIH, Professor Rhee shifted towards purifying yeast glutamine synthetase during his tenure at NIH in the 1980s. This transition led to the discovery of a novel antioxidant enzyme. Concurrently, he made groundbreaking contributions to understanding signal transduction at cell surface receptors, establishing redox signaling research at NIH as a central theme of his personal career.
In 2005, upon returning to Korea, Professor Rhee was appointed Chair Professor in the School of Biopharmaceutical Science, Ewha Womans University, where he also directed the Institute of Molecular Life Sciences. His research during this period focused on hydrogen peroxide’s role in regulating cell signaling, challenging previous norms that free oxygen radicals were merely toxic substances. In 2013, he moved to Yonsei University as a Chair Professor of Biomedical Sciences at Yonsei University College of Medicine, where he also served as the Director of the Yonsei Biomedical Research Center. In 2015, he was appointed Chairman of the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), where he contributed significantly to advancing basic sciences in Korea for over two year.
His key research accomplishments are threefold. First, during the 1980s, he was the first in the world to isolate, purify, and identify the seven isozymes of phospholipase C (PLC), a pivotal phospholipase enzyme in the cell's signal transduction system. This work enabled the study of signal transduction at the molecular level, Moreover, he systematized the study of signal transduction through PLC by identifying the mechanisms by which various different isozymes of PLC are activated in cell surface receptor-induced signaling processes. Second, in the early 1990s, Professor Rhee was the first to discover and name a new antioxidant protein, peroxiredoxin. He later elucidated its regulatory function regarding hydrogen peroxide, demonstrating that it acts as a regulator of intracellular signaling through various modification mechanisms. Third, Professor Rhee contributed to pioneering the field of redox signaling by discovering that hydrogen peroxide, once thought to be a harmful byproduct of metabolic processes, functions as a secondary signaling molecule in cells. These research achievements have profoundly impacted studies on cancer, cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, and other chronic conditions, where free radicals were previously viewed and studied solely as as toxic substances. His work has been instrumental in opening up new avenues for understanding the causes and developing treatments for cancer and other chronic diseases. The impact of his research is evident in his lifetime publication record of 324 SCI-ranked papers, which have been cited 50,985 times as of June 2024.
Throughout his research career, Professor Rhee also focused on fostering younger scientists and establishing life science research infrastructure in Korea. From 1979, when he was actively working as a research director at the National Institutes of Health, until 2004, when he returned to Korea, he mentored numerous Korean Ph.D.s as postdoctoral fellows. More than 40 of these individuals have become professors at Korean universities, laying a key foundation for modern life sciences in Korea. While working at NIH, he contributed to selecting Ewha Womans University's Cell Signaling Research Center as a leading research center (SRC) project by the Ministry of Science and Technology in 1998 and played a role in establishing the Graduate School of Biopharmaceutical Sciences by merging the College of Natural Sciences and the College of Pharmacy. Furthermore, an MOU between NIH’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and Ewha Womans University's Cell Signaling Research Center was signed in 2005, providing opportunities for graduate students and researchers from Ewha Womans University to conduct research at NIH. He also received several research grants, including those for the New Drug Development Project, National Scientist Support Project and Aging Control Infrastructure Technology Project. Since moving to Yonsei University in 2013 and becoming the first Director of the Yonsei Institute for Biomedical Research, he has worked to improve the research environment by establishing state-of-the-art equipment, recruiting new faculty members, and systematizing collaborative research between clinicians and basic researchers.
Other than his devotion to studying redox signaling, his few extracurricular activities included serving as a journal editor. After many years on the editorial board of the American Journal of Biochemistry, he contributed to developing Korean journals by serving as editor-in-chief for Molecules and Cells for four years starting in 2007.
Professor Sunghyun Park exemplifies an innovative scientist, demonstrating the dual nature and importance of statistics as both foundational and applied science. He has fulfilled diverse roles of a statistician: as a researcher, educator, industrial consultant and practitioner of statistical quality control in industrial settings, author who contributed to the education and popularization of statistics, and a science administrator who contributed to the promotion of science and technology.
In recognition of his research achievements and efforts to advance life sciences in Korea and internationally, Professor Rhee has received numerous awards: the Hoam Science Prize (1995), the Ilcheon Prize of the Korean Society for Molecular Biology (2000), the Cheongsan Prize from the Korean Society for Molecular Biology and Cell Biology (2011), and the Knowledge Award from the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (2013). Internationally, he has been honored with the Director's Award from NIH (1991), the Discovery Award of the Society for Free Radical Biology (2005), and the California Oxygen Club and Jarro Formula Health Science Award (2014).
Professor Sue Goo Rhee is a representative life scientist who has dedicated his entire career to the field of cell signaling research. His work has significantly contributed to creating a new field of redox biology and elevating Korea's life sciences to world-class status.
