The prestigious three-year award is given to South Korea’s top graduate students in the field of medical bioscience.

Yun’s research interests lie at the intersection of biophotonics, nanophotonics, and image processing. Her work involves optical experiments, image processing, nanofabrication, and optimization at both the imaging system and device structure levels, all toward the development of advanced imaging technologies for biomedical applications.

Currently, she’s working  to enhance spatio-temporal resolution of optical microscopy by integrating high-speed camera systems, such as SPAD arrays, with advanced image processing algorithms to achieve high-SNR imaging with ultra-high spatial and temporal resolution for biomedical applications.

She’s also working on the development of photonic devices for advanced imaging. The goal is to design and optimize nanophotonic structures for applications like single-shot hyperspectral imaging to enhance optical functionalities.

Yun received her B.S. and M.S. in mechanical engineering from Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) in South Korea. During her master’s degree, she published multiple papers on the design strategies of metasurfaces and other nanophotonic structures for applications including wide field-of-view depth imaging and radiative cooling.

As she pursues her Ph.D. in ECE, she aims to apply her background in light-matter interactions and design optimization to develop advanced bio-imaging systems that exploit higher degrees of freedom of light—such as polarization, phase, and spectral properties—and leverage complex photonic behaviors to push the frontiers of biomedical imaging.

The Asan Foundation is a South Korean social welfare foundation that supports the betterment of human society through research funding and a number of other activities.