Hyun Joon Kong
Research Associate
hjkong06@uiuc.edu

Education

Ph.D. Macromolecular Science and Engineering
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1995-2001

M.S. Industrial Chemistry (Polymer Science Major)
Hanyang University-Seoul, Korea, 1993-1995

B.S. Industrial Chemistry Engineering (Honor Student)
Hanyang University-Seoul, Korea, 1988-1992

Research Experience

e] Assistant Professor in Department of Chemical and Biomoelcular Engineering, Fellow in Institute of Genomic Biology University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 2007- Research Associate Department of Engineering and Applied Sciences Harvard University 2004-2006 Postdoctoral Fellow Department of Biological and Materials Sciences University of Michigan, 2001-2004

Research Focus

My research projects include: 1) engineering of cartilage, bone, and blood vessels, 2) design of novel biomaterials utilized for tissue engineering and protein/gene delivery, 3) regulation of the cellular functions with chemistry and mechanics of biomimetically designed extracellular matrices (ECM), and 4) development of a tool to analyze the cross-talk between cells and ECM using a fluorescent resonance energy transfer (FRET) technique.

Publications

• Kong, H. J., Liu, J., Riddle, K., Matsumoto, T., Leach, K., & Mooney D.J. Gene delivery regulated by substrate rigidity Nature Materials 4:460 (2005) – Highlighted by Nature 435:250 (2005).
• Kong, H. J., Polte, T., Alsberg, E., & Mooney D.J. FRET measurements of cell-traction forces and nano-scale clustering of adhesion ligands varied by substrate stiffness, Proceedings of the National Academy Sciences (USA) 102:4300 (2005).
• Kong, H. J. & Mooney, D.J, Polysaccharide hydrogels in tissue engineering. Polysaccharides 2nd Ed. Edited by Dmiutri S, Marcel & Dekker Chapter 36 (2005).
• Kong, H.J., Alsberg, E., Darnell, K., Lee, K. Y., & Mooney, D. J. Controlling degradation of hydrogels via the size of cross-linked junctions. Advanced Materials 16:1917 (2004).
• Kong, H.J., Darnell, K., & Mooney, D. J. Controlling rigidity and degradation of alginate hydrogels via molecular weight distribution. Biomacromolecules 5:1720 (2004).
• Kong, H.J., Lee, K.Y., & Mooney D. J. Non-destructively probing the cross-linked structure of polymeric hydrogels. Macromolecules 36:7887 (2003).
• Kong, H.J. & Mooney, D.J. The effects of poly(ethyleneimine) molecular weight on reinforcement of alginate hydrogels. Cell Transplantation 12: 779 (2003).
• Kong, H.J., Wong, E., & Mooney, D.J. Independent control of rigidity and toughness of polymeric hydrogels. Macromolecules 36:4582 (2003).
• Kong, H.J., Smith, M.K., & Mooney D.J. Processing of cell encapsulating hydrogels to enhance cell viability. Biomaterials 24: 4023 (2003).
• Kong, H.J., Bike S.G., & Li, V.C. Electrosteric stabilization of concentrated cementitous suspensions imparted by a strong anionic polyelectrolyte and a non-ionic polymer Cement and Concrete Research 36:842 (2006).
• Kong, H.J., Bike S.G., & Li, V.C. Effects of a strong polyelectrolyte on the rheological properties of concentrated cementitious suspensisons. Cement and Concrete Research 36:851 (2006).
• Kong, H.J., Bike S.G., & Li, V.C. Development of self-compacting engineered cementitious composite reinforced with hydrophobic poly(ethylene) fiber using electrosteric stabilization technique. Cement and Concrete Composites 25:301 (2003).
• Kong, H.J., Bike S.G., & Li, V.C. Development of self-compacting engineered cementitious composite reinforced with hydrophilic poly(vinyl alcohol) fiber using electrosteric stabilization technique. Cement and Concrete Composites 25:333 (2003).
• Kong, H.J., Lee, K.Y., & Mooney, D.J. Decoupling effects of solids concentration on rheological properties of pre-gelled alginate solution and mechanical properties of post hydrogel by utilizing binary molecular weight distribution. Polymer 43:6239 (2002).
• Riddle, K. W., Kong H. J, Leach, J. K., Fischbach, C., Cheung, C., Anseth, K. S., Mooney, D. J. Modifying the proliferative state of target cells to control DNA expression and identifying cell types transfected in vivo. Molecular Therapy (In press, 2006)
• Augst, A. D., Kong, H. J., Mooney, D. J. Alginate hydrogels as Biomaterials Macromolecular Bioscience 6:623 (2006).
• Comisar, W., Hsiong, S. Kong, H. J., Mooney, D. J., & Linderman J. J. Multi-scale modeling to predict ligand presentation within RGD nanopatterned hydrogels. Biomaterials 27:2322 (2006).
• Boontheekul, T., Kong, H.J., & Mooney, D. J. Controlling alginate gel degradation utilizing partial oxidation and bimodal molecular weight distribution. Biomaterials 26: 2455 (2005).
• Grimmer, J. F., Gunnlaugsson, C. B., Alsberg, E., Murphy, H. S., Kong, H.J., Mooney, D. J., & Weatherly, R. A. Tracheal Reconstruction Using Tissue-Engineered Cartilage. Archives of Otolaryngology Neck Surgery 130: 1191 (2004).
• Lee, K. Y., Kong, H.J., Larson, R.G., & Mooney, D. J. Hydrogel formation via cell cross-linking. Advanced Materials 15:1828(2003). – Editor’s choice from Science (2003).
• Alsberg, E., Kong, H.J., Hirano, Y., Smith, M.K., Alberiruti, A., & Mooney, D.J. Regulating bone formation via controlled scaffold degradation. Journal of Dental Research 82:903 (2003).
• Kim, Y.Y., Kong, H.J., & Li, V.C., Parallel control of micromechanics-based design and rheology-based design to develop a sprayable engineered cementitious composite. ACI Materials Journal 100:511 (2003).