Contact Information

401B College of Pharmacy
725 Rose Street
Lexington, KY 40536

phone: 859-323-6649
fax: 859-257-7564

Contact by email

Positions

• Assistant Professor
  Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Education

• B.E.
  Hanyang University School of Engineering, 1999
• M.E.
  The University of Tokyo School of Engineering, 2002
• Ph.D.
  The University of Tokyo School of Engineering, 2005

Younsoo Bae, Ph.D.

Younsoo Bae, Ph.D., is an assistant professor, Division of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Kentucky. He has multidisciplinary education and training backgrounds at universities in South Korea, Japan and the United States with benefits that include experience at different academic programs, mentoring international students with different cultures, and expanding personal development as a scientist.

Dr. Bae received B.E. in Textile/Polymer Engineering from Hanyang University, South Korea (1999), and M.E. and Ph.D. degrees in Materials Science from the University of Tokyo, Japan (2005). With specialties of Biomaterial Engineering, Chemistry, and Biology, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher and research associate at the University of Tokyo, School of Engineering and School of Medicine for 2.5 years, and at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Pharmacy for 1.5 years prior to joining the University of Kentucky in 2008 as an assistant professor.

Dr. Bae’s research is focused on the development of intelligent polymer nanovehicles for controlled combination delivery of potential bioactives to the targeted lesions. Bioactives may include anticancer drugs, proteins, and nucleotide drugs while targeted legions are tumor vasculatures, hormone-sensitive human cancers (breast, ovary, uterine and prostate), and drug-resistant cancers. Heat shock proteins and proteasomes are the major molecular targets of interest for the combination therapy using intelligent polymer nanovehicles, along with conventional chemotherapy.

Dr. Bae’s philosophy in teaching is that students should experience cross-disciplinary scientific skills and techniques while acquiring at least one specialty in science during the graduate education. This is of particular importance for those pursuing advanced degrees, high quality of science, and interdisciplinary collaboration works with other scientists in the future. Students in Bae lab will obtain knowledge and skills in chemistry, biology, and drug/gene delivery science for cancer research.

Selected Publications/Presentations

• T.-H. H. Chen, Y. Bae, D. Y. Furgeson (2008) Intelligent biosynthetic nanobiomaterials (IBNs) for hyperthermic gene delivery. Pharm. Res. 25(3), 683-691.
• S.J. Lee, Y. Bae, K. Kataoka, D. Kim, D.S. Lee, S.C. Kim (2008) In vitro release and in vivo anti-tumor efficacy of doxorubicin from biodegradable temperature-sensitive star-shaped PLGA-PEG block copolymer hydrogel. Polym. J. 40(2), 171-176.
• Y. Bae, R. A. Buresh, T. P. Williamson, T.-H. H. Chen, D. Y. Furgeson (2007) Intelligent biosynthetic nanobiomaterials for hyperthermic combination chemotherapy and thermal drug targeting of HSP90 inhibitor geldanamycin. J. Control. Release 122, 16-23.
• M. P. Xiong, Y. Bae, S. Fukushima, M. L. Forrest, N. Nishiyama, K. Kataoka, G. S. Kwon (2007) pH-Responsive multi-PEGylated dual cationic nanoparticles enable charge modulations for safe gene delivery. ChemMedChem 2, 1-8.
• Y. Bae, T. A. Diezi, A. Zhao and G.S. Kwon (2007) Mixed polymeric micelles for combination cancer chemotherapy through the concurrent delivery of multiple chemotherapeutic agents. J. Control. Release 122, 324-330.
• M. Han, Y. Bae, N. Nishiyama, K. Miyata, M. Oba, K. Kataoka (2007)Transfection study using multicellular tumor spheroids for screening non-viral polymeric gene vectors with low cytotoxicity and high transfection efficiencies. J. Control. Release 121, 38-48.
• Y. Bae, N. Nishiyama, K. Kataoka (2007) In vivo antitumor activity of the folate-conjugated pH-sensitive polymeric micelle selectively releasing adriamycin in the intracellular acidic compartments. Bioconjugate Chem. 18, 1131-1139.
• Y. Lee, S. Fukushima, Y. Bae, S. Hiki, T. Ishii, K. Kataoka (2007) A protein nanocarrier from charge-conversion polymer in response to endosomal pH. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 129, 5362-5363.
• M. R. Kano, Y. Bae, C. Iwata, Y. Morishita, M. Yashiro, M. Oka, T. Fujii, A. Komuro, K. Kiyono, M. Kamiishi, K. Hirakawa, Y. Ouchi, N. Nishiyama, K. Kataoka, K. Miyazono (2007) Improvement of cancer-targeting therapy, using nanocarriers for intractable solid tumors by inhibition of TGF-beta signaling. PNAS 104 (9) 3460-3465.
• N. Nishiyama, Y. Bae, K. Miyata, S. Fukushima, K. Kataoka (2005) Smart polymeric micelles for gene and drug delivery. Drug Discov. Today: Technologies 2 (1) 21-26.
• Y. Bae, W. -D. Jang, N. Nishiyama, S. Fukushima, K. Kataoka (2005) Multifunctional polymeric micelles with folate-mediated cancer cell targeting and pH-triggered drug releasing properties for active intracellular drug delivery. Mol. BioSyst. 1 (3) 242-250.
• Y. Bae, N. Nishiyama, S. Fukushima, H. Koyama, Y. Matsumura, K. Kataoka (2005) Preparation and biological characterization of polymeric micelle drug carriers with intracellular pH-triggered drug release property: Tumor permeability, controlled subcellular drug distribution, and enhanced in vivo antitumor efficacy. Bioconjugate Chem. 16 (1) 122-130.
• Y. Bae, S. Fukushima, A. Harada, K. Kataoka (2003) Design of environment-sensitive supramolecular assemblies for intracellular drug delivery: polymeric micelles that are responsive to intracellular pH change. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 42 (38) 4640-4643.