Since mid-90’s Dr. Hee-Sup Shin’s group has been applying molecular genetics to studying neural mechanisms for animal behaviors, focusing on genes involved in regulation of intracellular Ca2+ level, including voltage-gated Ca2+ channels, PLC genes, and Na+/Ca2+ exchangers.
During last decade his research interest has been evolved to studying the neurobiology of social behaviors. He has pioneered to establish a behavioral paradigm to study empathy behavior in the mouse.