Hyunjun Choi, Ph.D
Postdoctoral Research Associate, North Carolina State University
Department of Animal Science
My research goal is to contribute to swine production through precision nutritional strategies:
Positively modulating intestinal microbiota, intestinal health, and growth in monogastric animals through dietary nutrition
Reducing pork production costs through precision nutritional evaluation of feedstuffs for monogastric animals.
Biography
Hyunjun Choi is a postdoctoral research associate in Animal Science at North Carolina State University. He was born on August 20, 1992, in Pocheon, South Korea, and was raised in a family with a pig farm. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from Konkuk University and his Ph.D. from North Carolina State University. His research aims to advance swine production through precision nutrition strategies by: 1) Positively modulating intestinal microbiota, intestinal health, and growth in monogastric animals through dietary interventions; and 2) Reducing pork production costs through the precision nutritional evaluation of feedstuffs for monogastric animals. To date, Dr. Choi has published 20 journal articles, including 13 articles as the first author. He has co-authored 2 book chapters and has presented numerous poster and oral presentations. He served as student president of the NCSU Korean Student Association (2022-2023) and has received several prestigious awards, including the CALS Outstanding Graduate Student Research Award (2025) from NC State University, the ASAS Young Scholar Award (2024) from the American Society of Animal Science, the Pinnacle Award (2023) from the International Ingredient Company.
Research Interests
Precision nutrition in monogastric animals
Dietary interventions to enhance mucosal microbiota, intestinal health, and growth in monogastric animals
Host-microbiota interactions and their impact on intestinal health
Human nutrition research using animal models
Education
Jan 2021 - May 2025
North Carolina State University
Doctor of Philosophy - Ph. D, Animal Science
Advisor: Dr. Sung Woo Kim
Research Field: Swine Nutrition
Mar 2017 - Feb 2020
Konkuk University
Master of Science, Animal Science and Technology
Advisor: Dr. Beob Gyun Kim
Research Field: Swine Nutrition
Mar 2011 - Feb 2017
Konkuk University
Bachelor of Science, Animal Science and Technology
Work Experience
May 2025 - Present
Postdoctoral Research Associate at North Carolina State University
Assisting with funding proposals for research projects
Participating in projects aimed at improving intestinal health and growth in pigs through dietary intervention
Supervising graduate and undergraduate students in conducting research projects
Contributing to building databases for the new version of the Nutrient Requirement of Swine
Serving as an ad hoc reviewer for peer-reviewed journals
Jan 2021 - May 2025
Graduate Research Assistant at North Carolina State University
Led research projects on dietary interventions to improve intestinal health and growth of pigs
Prepared and organized animal trials with undergraduate and graduate students
Contributed to peer-reviewed journal article as an ad hoc reviewer
Trained 10 undergraduate students to research projects
Presented research topics at 4 conferences
Mar 2017 - Feb 2020
Graduate Research Assistant at Konkuk University
Designed and conducted research trials for available nutritional values of feedstuffs fed to pigs
Prepared funding proposals with institutes and schools for government research projects
Served as a teaching assistant for undergraduate-level courses with 30-40 students
Presented research topics at 3 conferences
Awards & Scholarship
2025 CALS Outstanding Student Researcher
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), NCSU, April 2025
2025 Dr. Gary Allee Graduate Student Travel Award
American Society of Animal Science (ASAS), Mar, 2025
2024 Animal Science Graduate Student Award in Research
Department of Animal Science, NCSU, April 2024
American Society of Animal Science (ASAS), Mar, 2024
2024 Spring GOHA Graduate Travel Award
Global One Health Academy (GOHA), NCSU, Nov 2023
2023 Pinnacle Award
International Ingredient Corporation, Oct 2023
2023 Gwaltney Graduate Student Travel Award for Swine Research
Department of Animal Science, NCSU, May 2023
2022 Food Animal Innovation Summit Poster Competition Award (3rd)
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, NCSU, Sep 2022
2022 North Carolina Council Communicators Fellowship Award
North Carolina Pork Council, May 2022
Leadership
North Carolina State University Korean Student Association
Student President (Sep 2022 - Dec 2023)
NC Chapter, Korean-American Scientists and Engineers Association
NC state representative (Sep 2023 - Dec 2023)
Peer Reviewer for Journals
2021 - present
Ad hoc Reviewer:
Animal Feed Science and Technology
Animal Bioscience
Poultry Science
Revista Brasileira de Zootecnia
Italian Journal of Animal Science
Frontiers in Microbiology
Translational Animal Science
