MinKyung Yi, PhDProfessor Department of Microbiology & Immunology Phone: (409) 772-2338Fax: (409) 772-5065Email: miyi@utmb.edu Education Current Interests Research Interests Recent Publications PhD, 1997, Cancer Research Institute, Kanazawa University, JapanMS, 1992, Pohang Institute of Science and Technology, Life Science, KoreaBS, 1990, Seoul National University, College of Pharmacy, Korea Molecular Biology of Hepatitis C Virus, Virus-Host Interactions Related to HCC (hepatocellular carcinoma) and Metabolic Diseases Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a small, enveloped, positiveâ€stranded RNA virus belonging to the family Flaviviridae. HCV often leads to serious liver diseases, including liver fibrosis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. HCV infection has also been linked to metabolic diseases, such as NAFLD (non alcoholic fatty liver disease) and type 2 diabetes. Our current research focuses on two major areas that are least understood. First, we are studying the mechanism of hepatitis C virus assembly process to understand how it could form lipoviro particles (virus-lipoprotein hybrid), which likely allow it to avoid host immune detection leading to chronic infection. Second, we are studying virus host interactions involved in HCV-induced pathogenesis, including liver fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Search PubMed Database for Publications SciVal PublicView Research Experts Profiles