Principal Investigator
Sangyeon (Fred) Cho, 조상연
Assistant Professor, CPRIT Rising Star Scholar
Department of Bioengineering
Rice University
Email: scho1105 at rice.edu
Office: #615 BioScience Research Collaborative (BRC), Rice University, Houston, TX
Employment and Education
| 2026–Current | Assistant Professor, Department of Bioengineering, Rice University |
| 2025–2026 | Assistant Professor, Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School |
| 2023–2025 | Instructor, Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School |
| 2019–2023 | Postdoctoral Fellow, Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, with Prof. Seok-Hyun (Andy) Yun |
| 2014–2019 |
Ph.D. in Medical Engineering and Medical Physics (MEMP), Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology (HST), with Prof. Seok-Hyun (Andy) Yun
Thesis Committee: Moungi Bawendi (MIT Chemistry, Nobel Laureate 2023), Marin Soljačić (MIT Physics), Hakho Lee (MGH Systems Biology). |
| 2008–2014 |
B.S. in Chemistry, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), with Profs. Yongkeun (Paul) Park and Hyotcherl Ihee
Included a 23-month pause for mandatory military service as a firefighter. |
Selected Awards and Honors
| 2026 | Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) Rising Star Award |
| 2025 | NIH/NCI K25 Research Grant |
| 2022 | Ambassador, Optica |
| 2019 | The Face of the Year (Best Scholar), Samsung Scholarship |
| 2017 | Martha L. Gray Prize for Excellence in Research, Harvard-MIT HST |
| 2010 | Grand Prix, KAIST Undergraduate Research Program |
Marathon
“Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.” — Haruki Murakami, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
Professor Cho is also a marathon runner. Over the past 12 years, he has run a cumulative distance of approximately 4,500 km.
He has completed both the Los Angeles Full Marathon and the Honolulu Marathon.
He believes that research and marathon running are alike: both require patience, persistence, endurance, and the discipline to keep moving forward.
Climbing Diamond Head around the final 38 km mark during the 2024 Honolulu Marathon.