FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Jin Hyup Lee, an assistant professor at Korea University, is speaking next week as part of a seminar hosted by the U of A's School of Human Environmental Science's human nutrition program.

Lee, who has worked as a research associate at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School, is presenting "Circadian Clock Genes and Their Implications to Diseases."

Circadian clocks make it possible for most living organisms to coordinate their biology and behavior with daily environmental changes corresponding with the day-night cycle.

Lee's presentation is Thursday, July 13, at 10 a.m. in Hembree Auditorium, Room E107 in the Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences Building.

Lee earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from Kyungpook National University in South Korea, and his doctorate at the University of North Carolina. At UNC, he researched circadian clock genes and energy metabolism genes in disease development, including cancer and obesity. His findings have been published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and commented on by the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. 

The visit has been coordinated by Jae Kyeom Kim, an assistant professor in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences. Kim is part of the human nutrition faculty, and his research includes the prevention of obesity and cancer via diets rich in fruits and vegetables.

Kim is also using Lee's visit to talk about and create graduate student exchange opportunities for U of A students with institutions in South Korea.

The seminar is open to all faculty and staff for potential collaboration with Lee.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.