Hyunjun Choi

Hyunjun Choi, Ph.D

Postdoctoral Research Associate, North Carolina State University

Department of Animal Science

My research goal is to contribute to monogastric animal health and productivity through precision nutritional strategies:

Positively modulating intestinal microbiota, intestinal health, and growth in monogastric animals through dietary intervention
Reducing meat 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 monogastric animal health and productivity through precision nutrition strategies by: 1) Positively modulating intestinal microbiota, intestinal health, and growth in monogastric animals through dietary interventions and 2) Reducing meat production costs through the precision nutritional evaluation of feedstuffs for monogastric animals.

To date, Dr. Choi has published 26 journal articles, including 17 articles as the first author. He has co-authored 2 book chapters and has presented numerous poster and oral presentations. His scholarly contributions have been recognized in the field, with over 330 citations, an h-index of 10, and i10-index of 12 (Google Scholar Profile).

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: Nutrition and Digestive Physiology

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

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