[Power K-Women] "We Must Not Give Up on Discrimination and Seek Solutions" Advice from a Neuroscientist Who Entered Stanford in the US

First Korean Woman Lifetime Professor at Stanford University, Jin-Hyung Lee
Steadfast Despite Resistance from Male-Dominated Organization
Overcame Numerous Barriers Crossing Boundaries
Committed to Creating Positive Social Impact
"Women Should Leverage Their Unique Sensibility and Insight as Strengths"

The life of a promising electronic engineering student changed when her maternal grandmother suffered a stroke. The problem she had loved solving since childhood suddenly became a lifelong mission. This is the story of Professor Jin-Hyung Lee (47), a neuroscientist who became the first Korean woman to become a professor at Stanford University in the United States. Professor Lee has studied how the brain works for over a decade and founded a company herself to seek ways to diagnose and treat diseases using her research, becoming an entrepreneur.

Professor Lee frequently travels between the U.S. and Korea, busily working toward her goal. The future she aims for is a "world where brain health is managed." The path she walks toward this goal has not been smooth. From adolescence, she persevered in male-dominated organizations and crossed academic boundaries without hesitation, driven by a single-minded determination to solve problems. The hardships she faced only made her stronger. Based on curiosity, she has continued her journey, and in an interview with Asia Economy on the 3rd, she said, "One of my driving forces was that I never thought of myself as being discriminated against."

Professor Lee Jin-hyung of Stanford University in the United States said in an interview with Asia Economy on the 3rd, when asked if he had any message for his female colleagues in society, "All weaknesses can be transformed into strengths. Have confidence." Photo by Younghan Heo younghan@

- Please explain in detail your goal of a "future where brain health is managed."

▲ Currently, brain diseases cause severe disabilities once they occur. Even if disabilities arise from brain diseases, it is impossible to get a diagnosis and treatment at hospitals easily. It takes a long time just to see a doctor. There are many patients but not enough doctors. After waiting about a year to meet a doctor, even if you explain your symptoms and get imaging done, it is difficult to accurately identify the disease. Diagnosis requires observing the progression over time. Even if diagnosed, there are no treatment methods. Management is naturally impossible, and when serious diseases develop, there is nothing that can be done. It is a desperate situation. Ultimately, in the future, I hope to be able to diagnose and treat such conditions and go further?imagine waking up in the morning and measuring your brain function. If it shows signs of memory decline today, you could adjust your diet and exercise accordingly in daily life. By managing it this way, if you feel your brain condition is worsening and approaching a disease stage, you would then visit a hospital for a precise diagnosis.

- What have you done to create such a future?

▲ The first step was 15 years of research focused on understanding how the brain works. I believed the reason we cannot currently diagnose or treat brain diseases is that we do not know how brain functions operate. When you look at electronic devices, you know how they are made, so you can fix them quickly. So, I needed to understand how the brain operates. Through my research, I learned a lot about brain function. Based on those results, I am working on creating applications that can be used in medical settings for patients.

- You graduated from Seoul National University’s Department of Electrical Engineering, which is generally male-dominated. Was it difficult as a woman?

▲ The first time I entered a male-dominated environment was when I entered high school (Seoul Science High School). At that time, out of 180 students, 30 were female. In one class, there were 5 female students out of 30. At university, there were 296 students in total, but only 7 were female. Of those 7, only 2, including me, are currently working in electrical engineering. The others went on to study further and moved into medical or legal fields. Basically, there were many difficulties for women in a male-dominated environment. Being a minority brought challenges. Even for social gatherings, we met with women’s universities. During the entrance interview, a professor asked me, "Why did you come here as a female student?"

- Was there a reason you stayed instead of leaving like other female classmates?

▲ Once I start something, I cannot give up halfway. (laughs) I tell my students not to develop habits of giving up or failing. I tell them to develop the habit of achieving their goals. In fact, if you set a goal as 100, you usually don’t achieve all 100. Even if you achieve 10, develop the habit of accomplishing and finishing. That is a habit. For me, it seems to be an innate personality from childhood. When I was young, if I didn’t have toys, I made them myself and liked exploring. I liked solving problems by thinking, "This is inconvenient, how should I fix it?"

- You are currently both a professor and an entrepreneur. Both roles seem to involve many challenges to solve.

▲ So, it suits my aptitude well. As a professor, I solve detailed problems. It requires going deeper and narrower than business. In my case, I enjoy putting together the big puzzle to solve problems more than doing narrow and deep academic research. Doing academic research is enjoyable because solving problems itself is fun. Business involves solving many different types of problems. The scope is very broad. Drawing the big picture is fun. Also, you can make changes in people’s lives. What you do at school is solving problems and writing papers. Writing papers doesn’t cure diseases, so to solve the whole problem, both research and business must happen simultaneously. Thinking about how to implement academic ideas in real life led me to start a company. I became a professor to do research aimed at treating brain diseases, and to realize that research in real life, I had to do business. To solve the problems I wanted, I became both a professor and an entrepreneur. I chose both jobs according to the problems I wanted to solve.

He stood in front of the LVIS logo in Seocho-dong, Seoul, where Professor Jin-Hyung Lee of Stanford University in the United States is the representative. Photo by Younghan Heo younghan@

- It sounds like you have been walking a difficult path continuously.

▲ I have done many things that others might see as reckless. But I never thought of them as reckless myself. Because I saw the path. But while walking that path, I realized that the path I see is often invisible to others. For me to walk that path, it is important that others see it too. Because persuasion is necessary. Looking back after walking some distance, I didn’t realize the gap was so big. I realized it while walking. I have been working to narrow that gap. Doing work with a long-term goal is not easy.

- You are doing this process simultaneously in Korea and the U.S. That must bring other difficulties.

▲ One of the driving forces that allowed me to do well so far is that I never thought of myself as being discriminated against. Looking back, I realize there was a lot of discrimination at every stage, including race. As I advanced, there were more difficulties due to the "glass ceiling" (discrimination against women in organizations) and the "bamboo ceiling" (discrimination against Asians in the U.S.). At the time, I was so focused on work that I didn’t notice much. I think it’s good for people facing difficulties in such situations to help each other. It’s better to seek solutions than to think of oneself as a victim of discrimination. I believe we should think about how to have a more positive impact on society.

- You seem to have overcome many boundaries and obstacles along the way.

▲ When I entered science high school, people said, "Why did that girl get in there?" Then at university in the Department of Electronic Engineering, they said, "Why did a girl come here?" It was a reaction because I was a girl. When I went to the U.S., I was seen as a foreign student. Then after earning a Ph.D. in electronic engineering, I moved into neuroscience. There, I faced strong opposition with comments like, "Who are you? You have no pedigree." After overcoming that and gaining recognition at the school, I started a business. (laughs) Crossing boundaries was very difficult. Because my goal was to solve problems, I crossed boundaries. At first, I didn’t realize the obstacles would be so big.

- What do you think was your biggest crisis during that process?

▲ The biggest crisis was probably not realizing I was being discriminated against. (laughs) I was running toward the problem to be solved, and because I didn’t even realize I was being discriminated against, I encountered unexpected obstacles and almost couldn’t get back up. Some obstacles took years to overcome. It was tough.

- Then, what do you consider your greatest achievement?

▲ Since I haven’t yet achieved my ultimate goal, it’s hard to say, but if I had to say in one word, it would be "enduring by overcoming countless walls without giving up." Every time I crossed a boundary, I faced severe persecution, but I overcame each wall and gained recognition. Being able to keep moving toward my goal while crossing boundaries?that itself is my greatest achievement, I think.

- How do you usually relieve stress?

▲ I relieve stress in two ways. First, I watch a lot of movies. When my mind is complicated, filling it with another story helps me forget the complexity. After watching a movie, my mind resets so I can think again. Second, I exercise. I like tennis the most. These days, I’m busy and don’t play much, but when I have time, I even participated in tournaments. I have two trophies from tennis tournaments. I also ride a bicycle occasionally.

- What is the life mission you want to achieve before you die? Is it creating the world where brain health is managed as you mentioned? Do you have an expected time when your dream will come true?

▲ I have been working on this problem for about 15 years, and now I see the answer. (The time to achieve the dream) has always been pushed back later than I expected because of obstacles. I think that within 5 to 10 years, a significant part of brain-related diagnosis and treatment will become possible.

- Do you have a message for female seniors, juniors, and fellow women professionals?

▲ I believe women have senses and insights that men do not have. I think these can be used as strengths to contribute to society. Every weakness can be transformed into a strength. I hope women have confidence. Having a victim mentality about discrimination is not good. We should think about how to overcome problems and foster a culture where women help each other in that process.

About Professor Jin-Hyung Lee

Professor Jin-Hyung Lee is a professor of Neurology and Bioengineering at Stanford University in the United States. She graduated from the Department of Electrical Engineering at Seoul National University and earned her M.S. and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at Stanford University. In 2017, she became the first Korean woman to be appointed as a tenured professor at Stanford. In 2019, she received the prestigious NIH Pioneer Award from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), given to scientists who propose new paradigms. In 2013, based on her research, she founded LVIS in Silicon Valley, aiming to develop and apply solutions for diagnosing and treating brain diseases.