Chan Young Joe

I am a researcher in the Data Science Team at the Research Institute of Environmental Health and Safety (EH R&C Co.) in Incheon, Korea. I build mechanistic models of how chemicals enter and accumulate in living organisms, and use them to support chemical risk assessment.

My main project is a flux-based dynamic energy budget–toxicokinetic (DEB-TK) framework for fish bioaccumulation, which describes uptake at exchange organs such as gills and gut in terms of membrane permeability and couples it to growth. I also develop mechanistic uptake models for PFAS in fish and paddy rice, and test how bioaccumulation screening tools perform in regulatory assessments.

Before joining EH R&C, I received my M.S. in Applied Chemistry (computational chemistry) from the University of Seoul with Prof. Rakwoo Chang, where I worked on large language models for chemistry (in-context learning and LoRA fine-tuning for molecular property prediction) and on molecular dynamics of membranes and enzymes, in collaboration with groups at Yonsei University, UNIST, and Chung-Ang University. I also hold a B.S. in Applied Chemistry and a B.E. in Artificial Intelligence (double major) from the University of Seoul, and spent the summer of 2024 as a visiting researcher with Prof. Wonpil Im at Lehigh University.

education

M.S. in Applied Chemistry (Computational Chemistry), University of Seoul Sep. 2024 – Feb. 2026 Advisor: Prof. Rakwoo Chang · Thesis: Application of Artificial Intelligence for Solving Chemical Problems · GPA 4.46/4.5
B.S. in Applied Chemistry; B.E. in Artificial Intelligence (double major, cum laude), University of Seoul Mar. 2021 – Aug. 2024 1st in the Department of Applied Chemistry; 2nd-highest cumulative GPA in the College of Natural Sciences (August 2024 graduates) · Early graduation
B.S. in Mathematics, National Institute for Lifelong Education (NILE) Jan. 2025 – Dec. 2026 (expected)

experience

Researcher, Data Science Team, Research Institute of Environmental Health and Safety, EH R&C Co., Incheon Jan. 2026 – present
Researcher, Computational Molecular Modeling Laboratory (Prof. Rakwoo Chang), University of Seoul Jun. 2021 – Feb. 2026
Visiting Researcher, Department of Bioengineering (Prof. Wonpil Im), Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, USA Jun. – Aug. 2024
Research Intern, Molcube Corporation Jul. 2023 – Feb. 2024

research interests

Mechanistic toxicokinetics and bioaccumulation modeling (DEB-TK, PFAS uptake in fish and rice)
Chemical risk assessment and regulatory bioaccumulation screening
Large language models for chemistry (in-context learning, LoRA fine-tuning)
Molecular dynamics of membranes and enzymes; enhanced sampling
Self-driving laboratories (SDL)
Chemical reaction networks

intellectual property

Database of biotransformation rate constants, membrane permeability, and assimilation efficiency for machine-learning model development Dec. 2025 Database producer’s right, Korea Copyright Commission, Reg. No. D-2025-000238 · Right holder: University of Seoul Industry–Academic Cooperation Foundation · Built with Hyeonsu Sim in the bioaccumulation and human-exposure prediction project with EH R&C

honors and awards

Best Poster Award, Korean Society of Environmental Health Spring Meeting 2026
Outstanding Paper Award, President of the University of Seoul (J. Comput. Chem. paper) 2026
Best Poster Award, System Chemistry Global Leading Research Center Winter Symposium 2025
Best Poster Award, Korean Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry Fall Meeting 2024
President’s Award, graduation with honors (cum laude), University of Seoul 2024
Academic Excellence Award, every semester, University of Seoul 2021 – 2024

certificates and licenses

Chemical Substance Safety Management Cooperation Course, Korea Environmental Conservation Institute (KECI) Feb. 2026 Certificate of Completion · Track: Hazardous Substance Testing · Funded by the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment
Amateur Radio Operator License, 1st Class
Unmanned Power Flight Vehicle (Drone) Operator Certificate, 4th Class
Hunting License, 1st Class (shotgun and airgun)
Driver’s Licenses:
- Ordinary (1st Class, manual) All Vehicles
- Large (1st Class) All Vehicles
- Large Trailer (1st Class Special) All Vehicles
- Wrecker (1st Class Special) All Vehicles
- Motorcycle (2nd Class Small, over 125 cc) All Vehicles

A full list, including scholarships and conference presentations, is in the CV.

miscellaneous

Erdős number: 5 (Rakwoo Chang → Angela Violi → Abram Magner → Tomasz Łuczak → Paul Erdős); also 5 via Kyungwoo Song → Yixuan Li → Serge Belongie → Fan Chung → Paul Erdős.
Papers behind each link

Via Rakwoo Chang
1. Joe – Chang: Evaluating in-context learning in large language models for molecular property regression, J. Comput. Chem. (2026). DOI
2. Chang – Violi: Insights into the effect of combustion-generated carbon nanoparticles on biological membranes, J. Phys. Chem. B (2006). DOI
3. Violi – Magner: A deep learning architecture for metabolic pathway prediction, Bioinformatics 36(8) (2020; retracted and replaced in 2024 with the same authors).
4. Magner – Łuczak: Asymmetry and structural information in preferential attachment graphs, arXiv. arXiv:1607.04102
5. Łuczak – Erdős: Large subgraphs of minimal density or degree, J. Combin. Math. Combin. Comput. 22 (1996).
Via Kyungwoo Song
1. Joe – Song: the same J. Comput. Chem. paper (2026).
2. Song – Li: DaWin: training-free dynamic weight interpolation for robust adaptation, ICLR (2025). arXiv:2410.03782
3. Li – Belongie: Stacked generative adversarial networks, CVPR (2017).
4. Belongie – Chung: Spectral partitioning with indefinite kernels using the Nyström extension, ECCV (2002).
5. Chung – Erdős: several joint papers.

news

Oct 12, 2026	I will present our flux-based DEB-TK bioaccumulation model and its regulatory applications at the EH R&C special session (S15) of the KOSEHT 2026 Fall Meeting in Tongyeong, Korea, on October 30.

selected publications

ET&C

A flux-based bioaccumulation model for growing organisms: integrating advective–diffusive uptake at exchange organs into dynamic energy budget theory

Jong-Hyeon Lee^* and Chan Young Joe

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 2026

DOI Preprint Bib

@article{Lee2026ETC,
  author = {Lee, Jong-Hyeon and Joe, Chan Young},
  title = {A flux-based bioaccumulation model for growing organisms: integrating advective--diffusive uptake at exchange organs into dynamic energy budget theory},
  journal = {Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry},
  shortjournal = {Environ. Toxicol. Chem.},
  year = {2026},
  pages = {vgag253},
  doi = {10.1093/etojnl/vgag253},
  preprint = {10.26434/chemrxiv.15002330/v1},
}

JCC

Evaluating in-context learning in large language models for molecular property regression

Chan Young Joe, Kyungwoo Song^*, and Rakwoo Chang^*

Journal of Computational Chemistry, 2026

Outstanding Paper Award DOI Bib

Outstanding Paper Award from the President of the University of Seoul (Jan. 2026)

@article{Joe2026JCC,
  author = {Joe, Chan Young and Song, Kyungwoo and Chang, Rakwoo},
  title = {Evaluating in-context learning in large language models for molecular property regression},
  journal = {Journal of Computational Chemistry},
  shortjournal = {J. Comput. Chem.},
  year = {2026},
  volume = {47},
  number = {2},
  pages = {e70308},
  doi = {10.1002/jcc.70308},
}