Biography

My research has been focused on immunopathogenesis of mycobacterial diseases including tuberculosis (TB) and nontuberculous mycobacterial disease (NTM). I have significant expertise in both TB and NTM research, with specific training and expertise in immunological analysis with animal models and human patient biological samples. Recently, I established a chronic NTM mouse model and demonstrated that early IL-17A is critical to establish NTM infection in mice. These findings were published in Plos Pathogens in April 2022 (PMID: 35363832). I also have collected various biological samples from NTM patients and demonstrated that attenuated IL-1 response may increase susceptibility to NTM pulmonary infection, through multiple factors including impaired expression of TLR2 and TWIK2 and reduced monocyte ratio. These findings were published in Microbiology Spectrum in December 2022 (PMID: 36255321). I have collaborators who are a world-leaders in the field of TB (Dr. Ramakrishna Vankayalapati) and NTM (Dr. Julie V. Philley, Prof. Barbara Brown-Elliott, and Dr. Richard J. Wallace Jr.). In summary, I have the training, experiences, expertise, and collaborators to successfully carry out the TB and NTM research project.

Education and Training

2021- Present: Res. Asst. Prof. University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler, TX, USA
2018-2021: Instructor. University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler, TX, USA
2013-2018: Postdoc. University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler, TX, USA
2013-2013: Postdoc. Stony Brook University School of Medicine, NY, USA
2011-2012: Postdoc. CVM, Chonnam National University, South Korea
2007-2011: Ph.D. CVM, Chonnam National University, South Korea
1998-2007: D.V.M. CVM, Chonnam National University, South Korea

Research Interest

Immunopathogenesis of respiratory infectious diseases

Publication Highlights

  • Jung BG*, Dean K, Wadle C, Samten B, Tripathi D, Wallace RJ Jr, Brown-Elliott BA, Tucker T, Idell S, Philley JV, Vankayalapati R. Decreased interleukin-1 family cytokine production in patients with nontuberculous mycobacterial lung disease. Microbiol Spectr. 2022 Dec 21;10(6):e0311022. (*Corresponding author)
  • Jung BG*, Samten B, Dean K, Wallace RJ Jr, Brown-Elliott BA, Tucker T, Idell S, Philley JV, Vankayalapati R. Early IL-17A production helps establish Mycobacterium intracellulare infection in mice. PLoS Pathog. 2022 Apr;18(4):e1010454. (*Corresponding author)
  • Jung BG, Vankayalapati R, Samten B. Mycobacterium tuberculosis stimulates IL-1β production by macrophages in an ESAT-6 dependent manner with the involvement of serum amyloid A3. Mol Immunol. 2021 Jul;135:285-293.
  • Jung BG, Wang X, Yi N, Ma J, Turner J, Samten B. Early secreted antigenic target of 6-kDa of Mycobacterium tuberculosis stimulates IL-6 production by macrophages through activation of STAT3. Sci Rep. 2017 Jan 20;7:40984.
FULL PUBLICATION LIST
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/bockgie.jung.2/bibliography/public/