Rae Cho

Rae Cho, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Cell Biology and Physiology at the UNC School of Medicine. Her research focuses on understanding proteolytic switches and their roles in cell behavior, aging, and disease. She combines chemical biology, proteomics, genomics, and zebrafish models to explore mechanisms underlying cell identity changes.

Education includes a BS from Seoul National University, a PhD from Stanford University, and postdoctoral training at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Her work aims to identify protease modulators for therapeutic applications in aging-related diseases.

Awards include a NIH K01 Award (2023-25), multiple postdoctoral fellowships, and recognition for research proposals. She leads the Cho Lab at UNC, located in the MBRB building, and maintains an active research webpage.

Research interests emphasize the interplay between protease activation and developmental pathways, particularly in muscular systems and ER stress responses. Her lab develops novel optical probes and microscopy techniques to study biological systems at molecular resolution.