Lab director
Choong-Wan (Wani) is the director of the Cocoan lab. His research focuses on understanding how the human brain represents, processes, and regulates pain and emotions using machine learning and computational modeling. He received his dual PhD in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience and the Institute of Cognitive Sciences from the University of Colorado Boulder (PhD advisor: Tor D. Wager), and MA in Clinical psychology and BS in Biology from Seoul National University. He has received many awards including the Scitech Korea Young Neuroscientist Award from the Korean Society for Brain and Neural Sciences (한국뇌신경과학회, 2023), the Top 100 R&D achievements from the government (국가연구개발 우수성과 100선, 과기정통부, 2022), Kim Chan Award from the Korean Pain Research Society (대한통증연구회, 2022), Outstanding Achievement Award from the Korean Society for Human Brain Mapping (학술상, 대한뇌기능매핑학회, 2021), Jaeil Kim Young Scholar Paper Award from the Korean Psychological Association (한국심리학회, 2019). Currently, he is an associate director of the IBS Center for Neuroscience Imaging Research (뇌과학이미징연구단), an associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) and also the BK21-FOUR funded department of Intelligent Precision Healthcare Convergence (IPHC) at SKKU.
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Graduate students
Sungwoo is a graduate student in the Cocoan lab. He joined the lab as a postbac RA 2018 summer and entered the graduate school 2019 summer. He received B.A. in Psychology at Catholic University of Korea and is taking another B.S. course in Computer science and Statistics at Korea National Open University. He is interested in deep learning and computational models of pain and emotions. He is currently leading a project, called the Midnight Pain Club!
Jungwoo is a graduate student in the Cocoan lab. He joined the lab as a postbac RA 2019 spring and entered the graduate school 2020 spring. He majored systems biology and minored philosophy at Yonsei University. He is interested in computational basis of emotion and pain. His ultimate goal is to find computational motifs of our psychological constructs that can substitute lingual representation.
Jihoon is a graduate student in the Cocoan lab. He joined the lab as an undergrad RA at 2018 summer and entered the graduate school 2020 spring. He majored in Computer Sciences at the Hongik University. He previously worked with Prof. Yongseok Yoo at the Brain & Information Lab in Incheon University. His research interests include computational neuroscience and artificial intelligence (esp. deep learning models).
Eui Jin is a graduate student in the Cocoan lab. She joined the lab as a post-bachelor research assistant in the fall of 2022 and started a graduate study in the spring of 2023. She holds a B.A. in psychology and big-data humanage from the Catholic University of Korea, and her research interests revolve around emotions from cognitive, affective, and clinical neuroscience perspectives. Specifically, her research focus is on music-induced analgesia and she aims to further her investigations in this field with the ultimate goal of commercializing music as a treatment method in the future.
Yuseon is a graduate student in the Cocoan lab since winter 2022. He majored in Energy and Chemical Engineering at UNIST (Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology). He wants to understand the dynamic process of pain regulation. He is studying pain recovery process in a dynamical system view.
Sohee is a graduate student in the Cocoan lab. She joined the lab as a post-bachelor research assistant in the spring of 2023 and started a graduate study in the spring of 2024. During undergrad, she double majored in Department of Medical Biotechnology and Bio-Software at Kangwon National University. She is interested reinforcement learning and computational models of internal state. She also wants to understand decision making process based on internal state.
Joobin joined Cocoan lab spring of 2023 as an Undergraduate Research Assistant and started her undergradaute & masters combined program 2024 fall. She studied psychology at Sungkyunkwan University and has a broad interest in the mechanisms of emotion and its link to other constructs such as pain. She aims to study them through language and unravel how emotion carries out in the brain.
Jeong In is a graduate student in the Cocoan lab. She joined the lab as an Undergrad Research Assistant in the Cocoan lab since November 2023 and started a graduate study in the spring of 2025. She is majoring in philosophy and psychology at Yonsei University. She is interested in identifying how people develop the sense of self relevance and the internal model generating selfhood.
Research staff
Jaejoong is a postdoc in the Cocoan lab. He is interested in the individualized brain representations of experimental and clinical sustained pain. He received his M.D. from Hanyang University in 2017, and joined the Cocoan lab as a graduate student. He received Ph.D. from Sungkyunkwan University in 2023.
Hong Ji is a postdoc in the Cocoan lab. She received her BS in Biological Sciences and BA in Psychology from Sungkyunkwan University before joining Cocoan lab. She received Ph.D. from Sungkyunkwan University in 2024. She is interested in exploring where the individual differences in emotion, decision-making, and memory by developing brain models of internal cognitive and affective states (e.g., valuation, self-concept). She also wants to understand the dynamic relationships of emotion, mental health, and social interaction.
Suhwan is a postdoc in the Cocoan Lab. He earned a B.A. in Psychology and a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Sungkyunkwan University. His research focuses on understanding the neural and behavioral mechanisms underlying psychological and physical health. Ultimately, he aims to investigate how environmental factors—such as personal background and cultural context—influence well-being.
Soo Ahn is a postdoc in the Cocoan lab. She received her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering and B.A. in Psychology from Sungkyunkwan University. Her research interests focus on understanding the brain mechanisms of the interaction and modulation between pain and pleasure. During her Ph.D. in the Cocoan Lab, she conducted research on brain representations of sustained pain and pleasure and their interaction based on human fMRI. Now she wants to apply these findings to clinical contexts to explain how the brain processes support pain and pleasure, by combining neuroimaging with computational analysis methods, including machine learning algorithms, predictive modeling, and functional connectivity.
Youngeun is a post-master’s researcher in the Cocoan lab. She joined the lab as a post-bachelor research assistant in the fall of 2021 and completed her Master’s program in the spring of 2024. Before joining the Cocoan lab, she received her BS in Biology and Psychology from Gordon College. She is currently interested in understanding pain and various cognitive and affective states within individuals, specifically using a precision neuroimaging approach.
Anel joined the Cocoan lab as a post-bachelor research assistant in February 2024 after obtaining a double major degree in biomedical engineering (B.Sc.) and business administration (B.A.) at UNIST. During her undergraduate years, aiming to gain research experience, she interned at Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences and Harvard Medical School, which in turn sparked her interest for integrating affective neuroscience with neuroimaging and predictive modeling. Now, she is particularly fascinated with understanding the underlying mechanisms of tonic pain, its clinical implications, and the potential of precision functional mapping techniques in the field.
Sehwan is a post-bachelor research assistant in the Cocoan lab since June 2024. He majored in astronomy at Chungnam National University and Yonsei University. He is broadly interested in the covert nature of human consciousness. He also hopes to make practical contributions to human life based on his understanding of consciousness.
Ho Jae joined the Cocoan Lab as a research assistant in September 2024. He obtained an M.D. from Chungnam National University and is currently a fourth-year resident in anesthesiology and pain medicine at Yonsei University Severance Hospital. He is also pursuing a master’s degree in psychology and counseling. He is particularly interested in integrating pain medicine with cognitive psychology, neuroplasticity, and sleep medicine, focusing on developing improved treatment protocols.
Mina Kim is the lab manager in the Cocoan lab. She holds a background in performing arts and is skilled in bilingual communication, supporting both Korean and English-speaking team members. With a keen interest in facilitating neuroimaging research, she is focused on enhancing collaboration across diverse groups and managing the operational needs of the lab. She is especially interested in understanding the intersection between psychological well-being and cultural contexts, and she is dedicated to fostering an inclusive, efficient research environment.
Undergraduate students
Youngsoul, majoring in Biomedical Engineering at Sungkyunkwan University, joined the Cocoan lab in Feb. 2024 as an undergraduate research assistant. Her main interest lies in the study of leveraging music as a tool for analyzing human intelligence with a focus on the processes and principles by which music can induce intended emotions. She is also interested in artificial intelligence.
Jung Yeon joined the Cocoan lab as an undergraduate research assistant in 2025 after working at the Dev lab. She is double majoring in Department of Psychology & Software Engineering at Duksung Women’s University, with an interest in Neuroscience and Human-AI Interaction. Ultimately, she aims to integrate her two academic backgrounds to pursue research in neuroimaging and brain-based AI modeling.
Jisu joined Cocoan Lab as undergraduate research assistant in January 2025. She majored Psychology at Jeonbuk National University. She is interested in using fMRI to study the neural mechanism of emotional experiences, especially in relation to emotional disorders.
Sangheon, majoring in Biomedical Engineering at Sungkyunkwan University, joined the Cocoan lab in JAN. 2025. as an undergraduate research assistant. He has a broad interest in brain mechanisms, particularly in how consciousness is formed and operates. He hopes to acquire a better understanding of relationship between conciousness and brain.
Jaejoon is a member of SKKU GMBE with a keen interest in emotions, affective science, and artificial intelligence. Since AI evolves by mimicking human characteristics, he believes that focusing on emotions is essential for its further advancement. Jaejoon is particularly interested in categorizing different types of emotions and understanding how they manifest. As an undergraduate research assistant, he aspires to deepen his knowledge of neuroscience and explore the intricate relationship between emotions and AI.
Junwon joined the Cocoan Lab as an undergraduate research assistant in March 2025. He is currently majoring in Global Biomedical Engineering at Sungkyunkwan University. His research interests focus on the mechanisms of pain and its regulation. He believes that accurately measuring and effectively expressing pain in various ways is crucial for advancing our understanding and treatment of pain.
Collaborators
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