Microbial ecology is the study of application to environmental science, ecology, and taxonomy of numerous microorganisms on Earth including soil/marine/wastewater/freshwater/air/food/animals, and the human gut. Ecological research, in particular, is the study of which microorganisms reside in a given environment, how they shape microbial communities, and how they influence the environment and humans. Furthermore, we isolated novel microoragnisms in a specialized habitat in order to conserve more diverse microbial resources on this planet, and Taxonomic study (nomenclature/ identification/ classification) is being undertaken. We are now broadening the area of our research by investigating the ecology of archaea, fungi, and viruses which have gotten less attention in comparison to bacteria.

- Research on the mechanisms of gut microbiome involvement in drug action and control of the microbiome.
- Development of live biotherapeutic products (LBP) for incurable chronic inflammatory disease and research on the mechanism of action of LBPs.
- Research on the association of the dietary intervention with alterations of the bacterial community and/or virome in the Korean gut
- Analyses of fecal microbiota to identify the etiology of diarrhea in Hanwoo calves and evaluation of the efficacy of fecal microbiota transfer (FMT) to treat diarrhea
- Development of data analysis platform to evaluate oral microbiome and original technology for disease control and prevention
- Research on phylo-symbiosis between gut microbiota and wild animal in the context of vertebrate evolution