C. Yong Kang
Professor
Postdoc: University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA
PhD: McMaster University, Canada
Office: Siebens-Drake Research Institute, Room 129
Phone: 519.661.3226
Email: cykang@uwo.ca
Lab Website: Kang Lab Website
Area of Study:
Development of vaccines against human viral diseases
Research Profile
Chil-Yong (Yong) Kang, PhD, DSc, FRSC, is a molecular virologist and Professor of Virology in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Western Ontario in Canada.
He conducted his post-graduate study at McMaster University in Canada where he received his Ph.D. in virology in 1971 under the supervision of Professor Ludvik Prevec. He took his three-year postdoctoral training under Professor Howard Temin (1975 Nobel Laureate) at the University of Wisconsin, Madison (1971-1974).
He received his Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) degrees from McMaster University and from Carleton University.
He served as a Professor of Microbiology at the University of Texas, Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, Texas (1974-1982), Professor and Chairman of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at University of Ottawa, Faculty of Medicine (1982-1992), and as Dean of Science at the University of Western Ontario (1992-1999).
Dr. Kang’s research in molecular virology includes the development of viral-specific antiviral therapeutic agents and efficacious vaccines against various human viral diseases including hepatitis C, Ebola hemorrhagic fever, MERS, Zika virus microcephaly, and HIV/AIDS. Dr. Kang has already developed a second-generation vaccine against the hepatitis B virus and an experimental vaccine against HIV-1 by using state-of-the-art genetic engineering and biotechnology. His SAV001 HIV vaccine based on genetically modified killed whole-HIV-1 has completed Phase I human clinical trial successfully and is currently being prepared for Phase II trial. Dr. Kang has also created a replication-competent recombinant vesicular stomatitis viral vectors as a vaccine platform to develop a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. Dr. Kang has published 148 peer reviewed scientific papers and 162 conference proceedings and abstracts in fields of virology, medicine, immunology, and molecular biology. He holds fifteen international biotechnology patents which cover over 70 countries.
Dr. Kang has received numerous awards and prizes such as the Korean-Canadian Heritage Award (1989), Award of Excellence of the University of Ottawa (1991), lchun Gold Medal (1998), the Ho-Am Prize in Medicine (1999), Order of Innovation in Science and Technology (Hyeoksin Medal) from Government of Republic of Korea (2002), the McMaster University Distinguished Alumni Award for 2007, Paul Harris Fellow Award, Rotary International (2008), the Lifetime Achievement Award from the University of Western Ontario (2009), Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal of the Governor General of Canada (2012), Scientist of the Year Award of the Korean Federation of Science and Technology (2014), and Vanguard Award from Techalliance (2019). Dr. Kang is an elected Life-time Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, Academy of Science (since 1993) and an elected Life-time Member of Korean Academy of Science and Technology (since 1997).
He continues to serve as a grant selection committee member for various federal granting agencies in Canada and the USA and is a member of the Board of Directors of numerous research institutions and foundations. Dr. Kang has served as a member of the Science Technology Innovation Council (STIC) of Canada for three years. Dr. Kang serves as a reviewer for the Journal of Virology, Journal of Infectious Diseases, Virus Research, Virology, Journal of General Virology, Journal of Biological Chemistry, and the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
Publication Profile
Selected Publications:
Prabhu S. et al. Nature Medicine, DOI:10.1038/s41591-020-0858-8; https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-020-0858-8, 2020
Choi JA. Et al. J. Gen. Virol. 102:001588, DOI 10.1099/jgv.0.001588, 2021
Sascha K. et al. Biotechnology & Bioengineeringc, 2021;1-11, DOI:10.1002/bit.27785, 2021
Kim, GN. et al. PLOS Pathogens, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1010092, 2021
Kate A. et al. iScience, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci. 2023.106292, 2023
