Hoon Ryu, PhD

Adjunct Associate Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Biography

Dr. Hoon Ryu earned his doctoral degree from Chonbuk National University, South Korea. He completed a postdoctoral research fellowship and was appointed Instructor of Neurology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School in 1999. He joined the Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine’s Department of Neurology in 2004 as an Assistant Professor. Now he is an Associate Professor and an investigator with the Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Center and VA Boston Healthcare System. He is a director of the laboratory for Neuronal Gene Regulation and Epigenetics. He works on the identification of biomarkers, the determination of molecular genetic, epigenetic mechanisms, and the development of therapeutics using cell culture systems and animal models of neurodegeneration. He has published over 70 original reports.

Research Interests:

Epigenetic changes encompass an array of molecular modifications including DNA methylation and changes to the chromatin packaging of DNA by post-translational histone modifications. The structure, dynamics, and chemical properties of chromatin almost completely determines how, when, and which genes are turned on and off. Chromatin remodeling and transcription regulation are tightly controlled under physiological conditions. Deregulation of chromatin remodeling is linked to the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders but the mechanism is elusive. In order to identify how genomes are deregulated by heterochromatin, Dr. Ryu is performing ChIP genome-wide sequencing combined with RNA-sequencing followed by platform integration analysis. He has found that altered chromatin plasticity is closely linked to the pathogenesis of Huntington’s disease via an expression of ESET (ERG-associated protein with a SET domain), a histone H3K9-specific methyltransferase. Currently, he is conducting research about mechanisms of ESET gene induction and neuronal heterochromatin condensation in Alzheimer’s disease.

Publications

  • Published 4/16/2025

    Ryu H, Cho KW, Ryu J. On the feasibility of a quantum sensing protocol designed with electrically controlled spins in silicon quantum dots. RSC Adv. 2025 Apr 16; 15(16):12067-12075. PMID: 40248232.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 2/7/2025

    Yousefian-Jazi A, Kim S, Chu J, Choi SH, Nguyen PTT, Park U, Kim MG, Hwang H, Lee K, Kim Y, Hyeon SJ, Rhim H, Ryu HL, Lim G, Stein TD, Lim K, Ryu H, Lee J. Loss of MEF2C function by enhancer mutation leads to neuronal mitochondria dysfunction and motor deficits in mice. Mol Neurodegener. 2025 Feb 07; 20(1):16. PMID: 39920775.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 1/27/2025

    Afridi R, Bhusal A, Lee SE, Hwang EM, Ryu H, Kim JH, Suk K. A microglial kinase ITK mediating neuroinflammation and behavioral deficits in traumatic brain injury. Mol Cell Neurosci. 2025 Mar; 132:103994. PMID: 39864680.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 1/15/2025

    Bhalla M, Joo J, Kim D, Shin JI, Park YM, Ju YH, Park U, Yoo S, Hyeon SJ, Lee H, Lee J, Ryu H, Lee CJ. SIRT2 and ALDH1A1 as critical enzymes for astrocytic GABA production in Alzheimer's disease. Mol Neurodegener. 2025 Jan 15; 20(1):6. PMID: 39815261.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 12/8/2024

    Kim JH, Jeong HG, Hyeon SJ, Park U, Oh WJ, Hwang J, Lim HH, Ko PW, Lee HW, Lee WH, Ryu H, Suk K. Crosstalk between lipocalin-2 and IL-6 in traumatic brain injury: Closely related biomarkers. Exp Neurol. 2025 Mar; 385:115092. PMID: 39637963.

    Read at: PubMed

Other Positions

  • Member, Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research
    Boston University

Websites

Education

  • Chonbuk National University, PhD
  • Chonbuk National University, MS
  • Chonbuk National University, BS