He is a fellow of the Korean Academy of Science and Technology and co-director of the IBS Center for Cognition and Sociality with Changjoon Justin Lee.

Moreover, he found that multiple pulses of serotonin stimulate gene expression that is mediated by the cAMP-response element (CRE).

In addition, he was successful in finding the novel signaling molecules ApLLP, CAMAP, ApPDE4, and ApAUF1, which are involved in long-term facilitation.

[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] In parallel with these studies in Aplysia, Kaang has expanded his research field to more complex mammalian models.

Combining molecular, electrophysiological, and behavioral experimental tools, he began to explore the mechanisms of learning and memory in mice.

In collaboration with Min Zhuo from the University of Toronto, he showed that the phosphorylation of PKMζ was increased in a neuropathic pain model in the anterior cingulate cortex.

Lee and E. Kim, he demonstrated that NMDAR-dependent synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus is impaired in a mouse model of autism, the Shank2 knockout.

Kaang received the Life Science Award from the Korean Society for Molecular and Cellular Biology in 2008.