Charles majored in biochemistry at the University of California, San Diego for his undergrad graduating in 1983.

He research topic was on target antigens for autoantibody formation associated with primary biliary cirrhosis.

In 2009, the Korean government recruited him as part of their World Class University (WCU) program.

Also within POSTECH, he was the founding and only director of the Academy of Immunology and Microbiology (AIM) for the Institute for Basic Science (IBS).

[5] The Academy researched chronic diseases of the immune system with the "belief that a significant proportion of the chronic diseases arise from aberrant interactions between the host’s immune systems with the components of the diet as well as with the commensal microbes that co-exist with the host.