Tae Gwan Kim
- Department of Microbiology
- Office: +82-51-510-2268
- Mobile: +82-10-9725-2540
- E-mail: tkim@pusan.ac.kr
- Homepage: http://envmicro.pusan.ac.kr/
- Research Area: Environmental microbiology & biotechnology
Microbial ecology of diverse environments and biotechnological processes
I have endeavored to link between microbial community and its functioning, and to enhance and sustain desirable functions of microbial communities via more ecologically effective and scientifically rigorous ways.
My previous works include characterization of microorganisms at the individual level, population dynamics and interactions at the population level, spatial and phylogenetic characteristics of communities at the community level and metabolic processes carried out by microorganisms at the system level.
My study area includes a wide variety of biotechnological processes: production of hydrogen, methane and electricity, removal of methane, biological activated carbon and activated sludge. I have a special interest in biofilms that form in environments and engineering systems because biofilms probably appear and play an important role in growth, survival and dispersion of microbes.
I am also interested in development of new technologies and strategies for microbial community studies. The complexity of microbial communities makes it difficult to appropriately design, mange, enhance and trouble-shoot biotechnological bioprocesses. The use of phylogenetic affiliation-based methods has proven to be valuable to understand certain aspects of microbial communities. However, these methods have significant limitations, since an organism's phylogeny cannot directly reflect its function. I have used different meta-level techniques (meta-genomics and meta-transcriptomics) for obtaining community information. I believe that the combination of meta-omics at different levels can offer better information of phylogenetic and metabolic diversity of a microbial community.
My previous works include characterization of microorganisms at the individual level, population dynamics and interactions at the population level, spatial and phylogenetic characteristics of communities at the community level and metabolic processes carried out by microorganisms at the system level.
My study area includes a wide variety of biotechnological processes: production of hydrogen, methane and electricity, removal of methane, biological activated carbon and activated sludge. I have a special interest in biofilms that form in environments and engineering systems because biofilms probably appear and play an important role in growth, survival and dispersion of microbes.
I am also interested in development of new technologies and strategies for microbial community studies. The complexity of microbial communities makes it difficult to appropriately design, mange, enhance and trouble-shoot biotechnological bioprocesses. The use of phylogenetic affiliation-based methods has proven to be valuable to understand certain aspects of microbial communities. However, these methods have significant limitations, since an organism's phylogeny cannot directly reflect its function. I have used different meta-level techniques (meta-genomics and meta-transcriptomics) for obtaining community information. I believe that the combination of meta-omics at different levels can offer better information of phylogenetic and metabolic diversity of a microbial community.