Team
The Team
Jesse Kim
CEO
Jesse is a seasoned serial entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience. He is passionate about helping startups flourish and achieve their full market potential, domestically and internationally. He leverages his deep industry knowledge to empower startups to expand their reach and achieve sustainable growth.
Alexis Lee
Managing Partner
Alexis has over a decade of experience guiding startups through global acceleration programs and market strategies. Her additional eight years in early-stage investment and fund operations provide a deep understanding of how to support new ventures and further strengthen her ability to support their growth. Alexis holds a degree in Life Sciences from the University of Toronto, demonstrating her aptitude for both the scientific and business aspects of innovation.
Partners
Hoonje Cho, PhD
CEO/CTO, ActnerLab
Professional Member of the Presidential Advisory Council on Science and Technology of South Korea
Adjunct Professor, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
Adjunct Professor, Chungnam National University Medical School
Dr. Hoonje Cho has been leading the Tech Incubator Programs for Startups (TIPS) at ActnerLab since 2015. He is a scientist and innovator who specializes in mentoring startups in biomedical and digital healthcare fields.
Dr. Cho has a deep understanding of both the scientific and startup worlds that can be beneficial in converting ideas into real-world applications. In addition to his entrepreneurship, he teaches at the Graduate School of Bio-Innovation Management at KAIST and Chungnam National University Medical School as an Adjunct Professor.
Min-Woong Kang, MD, PhD
CEO, MEDITULIP
Chief of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Chungnam National University Hospital
Professor, Chungnam National University Medical School
Dr. Min-Woong Kang is a renowned thoracic surgeon and an entrepreneur with strong leadership skills who turns challenges into opportunities. The technological limitation he faced while performing surgery motivated him to invent a medical device that increases the quality of life. His company now develops innovative surgical instruments to assist in cancer treatments.
Dr. Kang was a Visiting Professor at Mass General Hospital and Harvard Medical School from 2021 to 2023. Currently, he is a Professor at Chungnam National University Medical School and the Chief of Thoracic Oncology Surgery at Chungnam National University Hospital.
Advisors
Hak Soo Choi, PhD
Professor of Radiology, Harvard Medical School
Director of Bioengineering and Nanomedicine Program, Massachusetts General Hospital
Faculty, Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center
Faculty, Cancer Research Institute, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Dr. Hak Soo Choi is a leading scientist in bioimaging, nanomedicine, and nanotechnology. He primarily focuses on pioneering novel theranostic imaging probes tailored for tissue- and organ-specific targeting, leveraging his position at Mass General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Choi has forged successful collaborations with industry partners to advance the commercialization of his research endeavors, spanning radiology, molecular imaging, space medicine, and beyond. With a wealth of experience and exceptional leadership qualities, he offers invaluable insights to biomedical startups, sharing his expertise in intellectual property negotiation, research commercialization, and strategic partnership development.
Minho Shong, MD, PhD
CEO, THOR Therapeutics
Professor of Medicine, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
Dr. Minho Shong is a physician-scientist and a Professor at KAIST. He leads a research group focusing on understanding how mitochondrial dysfunction contributes to various diseases. In 2022, he founded THOR Therapeutics to translate his research into tangible solutions by developing the first-in-class treatment for cancer cachexia patients.
Dr. Shong also dedicated his specialties to researching at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). He also served as Professor and Dean at Chungnam National University Medical School and as President of Chungnam National University Hospital.