34th Northeast Regional Conference (NRC 2025)

The NRC 2025
Innovating the Future: AL, Healthcare, and Digital Transformation

The NRC 2025 was held at the DoubleTree Hotel in Fort Lee, NJ, on April 26, 2025.
The conference provided a vibrant forum for knowledge sharing, collaboration, and innovation, encouraging interdisciplinary dialogue among leaders from academia, industry, and government. Highlights of the event included keynote addresses by distinguished speakers, technical sessions, panel discussions, and networking opportunities, all dedicated to promoting research, development, and professional advancement between the USA and Korea.

The event commenced with an opening ceremony, highlighted by welcoming remarks from Min Suk Kang, Chair of the Northeast Regional Conference; Tae (Tom) Oh, 53rd President of KSEA; Jung Her, Managing Director of the Korea-U.S. Science Cooperation Center; and Euy Whan Kim, Consul General of the Republic of Korea in New York.

The NRC conference was highlighted by a plenary session featuring a keynote speaker and four distinguished speakers from various professional fields.

• Dr. Lawrence Honig, Professor of Neurology at Columbia University presented about “Therapeutic landscape for dementia – anti-amyloid monoclonal antibodies.
• Dr. Young Jun Kim, Scientific Council Chair, Oncology at Regeneron delivered “Bridging research and patient care: Transforming Oncology”
• Mr. Yong-Wook Jo, Associate Principal of ARUP shared an insightful challenges and lessons learned for “Engineering of little Island” in NYC.
• Mr. Jinha Lee, Co-CEO & Co-Founder of Spatial entertained with exciting topics about “How AI and Gaming are accelerating our shift to an immersive Future”.
• Dr. Erin Kang, Assistant professor at Montclair State University touched our heart with “Emerging trends in AI for Autism research and Treatment: Innovations, Challenges, and Future Directions”

In addition to the Plenary and Technical Sessions, four recipients of the Prof. Chin Ok Lee & Ms. Kwanghee Kim Award and four recipients of the Andrew Kim Foundation Award enthusiastically shared their recent research contributions.

Prof. Chin Ok Lee & Ms. Kwanghee Kim Award Recipients:

• Dr. Annie Lee, Assistant Professor of Neurological Sciences, Columbia University Irving medical Center “Advancing Precision Medicine in Alzheimer’s Disease Through Multi-Omics and AI”
• Dr. Minsung Kim, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Rutgers University “Quantum and Emerging Non-traditional Computing for Next-Generation Wireless Networks”
• Dr. Erin Kang, Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology, Montclair State University “Bridging Science and Community: A Korean-American Scholar’s Vision for Innovation and Impact in Neurodiversity Research”
• Dr. Chul Hee Lee, Postdoctoral Associate, Department of Radiology, Weill Cornell Medicine “Innovating the Future Precision Medicine: Radiopharmaceutical Sciences and Molecular Imaging”

Andrew Kim Foundation (AKF) Award Recipients:

• Jongwon Im, PhD Candidate in Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University “Probiotic neoantigen delivery vectors for precision cancer immunotherapy”
• Pureum Jeon, PhD, New York University Grossman School of Medicine. “Investigating the effect of NS1-BP on stress granules and AP0E4 on lysosomes in relation to neurodegenerative disease”
• Bongjun Choi, PhD Candidate in Electrical and System Engineering, University of Pennsylvania “Strong light-matter interaction for optoelectronic and photonic devices design”
• EunJin Shin, master’s Candidate in Civil Engineering, Columbia University “Carbon-Sequestering Building Materials Using Rick Husk, Rice Bran Wax, and Beeswax for Plant-Based Brick Manufacturing”

It is worth noting that each session was expertly moderated by Dr. Hyunah Cho of St. John’s University; Dr. Sungeun Choi of Queens College, The City University of New York, and President of the KSEA NY Chapter; Simon Shim, P.E., Principal of Active Design Group, Adjunct Professor at NJIT, and President of the KSEA NJ Chapter; and Dr. Wookjin Choi of Thomas Jefferson University and President of the KSEA Philadelphia Chapter.

The afternoon session of NRC 2025 concluded with a highly competitive poster competition, featuring 12 student participants who presented a wide range of topics — including tariff policy, the impact of artificial sweeteners, 3D-printed pharmaceutical lab applications, genome sequencing, and metastatic prostate cancer — each within a three-minute timeframe. Six students were recognized with Outstanding Presentation Awards. The program wrapped up with a lively raffle and closing remarks delivered by Dr. Stephen Suh, NRC Steering Committee Chair, and Dr. Yong-Kyu Yoon, 54th KSEA President-Elect.