B.S. Chemistry with specialization in Biochemistry, University of Virginia Ph.D. Cancer Research, Northwestern University Postdoctoral Fellow, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. After completing his doctoral degree at Northwestern University in 2009, Chung joined the laboratory of Pierre Coulombe in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. Chung is interested in understanding the basic mechanisms driving cancer progression. His long-term goal is to develop better therapeutic tools and strategies for patient care. He began with studies of lung cancer (at Northwestern University), moved to models of skin cancer (Johns Hopkins University), and hopes to continue in breast cancer research as an independent investigator.

The major focus of my laboratory is to elucidate novel functions of keratins in cancer cells. Intermediate filament proteins are the most diverse cytoskeleton proteins, and keratin family of intermediate filament proteins are abundantly expressed in all epithelial cells. Keratins, like all intermediate filament proteins, form ~10 nm wide filaments and provide crucial structural support upon mechanical and non-mechanical stresses. Interestingly, recent studies have revealed several non-mechanical support functions for keratins including cell migration and proliferation. In cancer, an aberrant expression of keratins is frequently observed, and keratin expression has diagnostic and even prognostic value. We previously demonstrated that keratins contribute towards cancer cell proliferation and invasion by regulating gene expression through an interaction with an RNA-binding protein. My laboratory investigates the cellular roles, regulation and mechanisms of actions of keratins in the context of various metastatic cancers.