Won Lab

We are excited to welcome Yang to the lab following a semester-long rotation. Yang is a Biostatistics student with extensive expertise in genetics and computational biology. He received his B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences and his Sc.M. in Biostatistics from Johns Hopkins University. He will continue working on genetic and genomic datasets in the Won lab. Welcome, Yang!

Alejandro, Katherine, and Hyejung had a great time at the Molecular Psychiatry Meeting in stunning Kauai! Hyejung chaired a session, while Katherine and Alejandro presented posters. The presentation day also coincided with Katherine’s birthday, so we celebrated with a small lab gathering afterward!

We celebrated Jessica’s defense and her Terry Magnuson Award at M Sushi! We also have several other exciting updates to share: Ivan joined the Won lab as a new Research Associate. Trent was invited for a graduate interview. Alejandro won the Art in Science Competition Award. Tatiana and Jingying submitted their first manuscript. Huge congrats to everyone!

It’s bittersweet that today marks our final day with Jess, or more accurately, Dr. McAfee. As a founding member of the lab, Jess was, for many years, the one and only. She established MPRA as a core technique in the lab, trained every lab member, shaped our lab culture, and became a mentor and friend to everyone. We all owe so much to you, Jess! While the lab will never feel quite the same without her, we are thrilled to congratulate her on a fantastic defense and on becoming

The Won lab held its second Thanksgiving potluck, with amazing dishes from everyone! Alejandro’s flan won the best dish award this year.

Jessica received the Terry Magnuson Award, which is given to an outstanding graduate student in the GMB curriculum based on scholarship and service. Huge congratulations to Jessica on this well-deserved award!

Happy Halloween from the Won lab!

The Won lab has disseminated its recent findings at several conferences. Jiseok presented a poster at ASHG; Hyejung and Jessica shared their work at WCPG; and Katherine and Hyunggyu presented their posters at IGVF. Katherine’s poster was also selected for a lightning talk — well done, everyone!

Alejandro won the 2025 Art in Science Competition at the UNC School of Medicine. Together with Ariana, he submitted an image titled...