Meet grad student Ki Yun Lee

Ki Yun Lee is a graduate student working with Professor Taher Saif in his HMNTL research lab. Earlier this semester, Lee was awarded 3rd place in the 2021 Image of Research Competition for his submission “A Neuron Cannot Shine Without Astrocytes.”

Lee, currently a grad student in mechanical sciences and engineering, earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan. He studied mechanical engineering and worked in two different labs during his time there, one that studied trends of the solar wind using ion data from the sun and another that worked with micro-robotics.

When looking at graduate schools, Lee said it was important to him to find a professor who would be able to offer advice on things outside of his research. He really enjoyed talking to Saif and felt that he was the right advisor for him.

“The second thing [that attracted me to UIUC] was the Graduate Programs Office in the MechSE Department. They did a phenomenal job inviting prospective students and organizing visits and events. They gave thoughtful consideration in their advisor matching program and offered great hospitality, which helped me decide to come here.” Lee also mentioned that the cost of living in Urbana-Champaign combined with the competitive pay made it easy for him to save money.

Now Lee studies biomechanics, focusing on the correlation between exercise and cognitive health in vitro. He takes media from exercising muscle tissue, which is like blood samples from living animals in in vivo model cases and then observes functional and morphological changes to determine if neuronal activity increases. By taking pictures of the specimens he is able to compare the neuronal activity and understand the mechanism behind it. One of these pictures was his submission for the Image of Research competition.

“I collect media from exercising muscle tissue and I use that media to culture neurons, and then observe morphological changes of the environment, such as whether there will be more cells or more synapses. I also observe functional changes like when neuronal activity goes up; they fire much faster and more synchronously,” Lee said.

Lee studies variations in these images, including the changes in the backgrounds. “It would seem obvious that the bright yellow single neuron would be the most important thing in this image, but I’m also focusing on the supporting actors – the background cells, astrocytes.”

Lee submitted the photo to the contest because he “wanted to leave the trace of my work, especially here in the UIUC community, so that I can show people what I've done so far. And I was also hoping that my work could be a helpful resource for others’ work.”

Outside of his research Lee is the treasurer of ENVISION (Engineers Volunteering in STEM Education), an RSO started several years ago by MechSE graduate students. The group volunteers at local schools in the Urbana-Champaign community and do hands-on projects with students, including using 3D printing pens to create structures from drafts and mirror anamorphosis.

In the future, Lee is very open and optimistic about his opportunities. He is currently considering going into industry, and eventually would like to start his own business. For now, he will continue his research in neuroscience, especially its implications for artificial intelligence, which is often based on neural networks.