Welcome

안녕하세요, I’m Minwoo. I’m a cognitive scientist fascinated by why humans care for one another, and how acts of care shape our health, relationships, and communities. Using concepts and methods in neuroscience and genetics, I study the brain circuits that support human altruism and trace their deep evolutionary roots.

I teach and mentor in social neuroscience and biological anthropology—whether introducing students to the fundamentals of the field, guiding their first fMRI analysis, or helping them turn an idea into a publishable study.

For the past 2.5 years, I have been a postdoctoral associate in the Life History Lab at Cornell University (PI: Dr. Marlen Z. Gonzalez). My research examines how social support enhances cardio-metabolic regulation under stress, and how proximity to a partner or close friend can buffer stress while preserving mental and cognitive resources. I have recently joined the Clinical Aging and Relational Emotion Science Lab (CARES) at Georgetown University (PI: Dr. Casey K. Brown) this summer, continuing my work on managing caregiving stress in diverse populations. 

Looking ahead, my goal is to cultivate sustainable altruism and caregiving by finding ways to reduce the psychological and physiological costs of caring for others.
 

Thank you for visiting me. Let’s connect!