About

Myunghee You is an Assistant Professor of Criminology, Law and Society at the University of Florida. She holds a Ph.D. in Criminology from Florida State University. Her research focuses on criminology, law, and society, contributing to the understanding of criminal justice issues within the broader context of social sciences. As a faculty member, she is involved in teaching and research activities that explore various aspects of criminology and law, supporting the department's interdisciplinary approach to social sciences and criminal justice studies.

Research topics

• Chemistry
• Biochemistry
• Biology
• Biophysics
• Cell biology
• Computer Science
• Optics
• Physics
• Molecular biology
• Medicinal chemistry
• Materials science
• Nanotechnology
• Composite material
• Computational biology
• Chemical physics
• Chromatography

Selected publications

• The complexity of neighborhood effects: A developmental and ecological framework for violent victimization

  Criminology · 2026-05-05

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract Extensive research has established a link between low self‐control and child victimization. However, the specific neighborhood conditions under which low self‐control most strongly influences victimization have been little examined, and, more importantly, no previous studies have investigated the complex ways in which neighborhood context interacts with self‐control and other individual characteristics to impact victimization. Drawing on data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods, the current study tests whether the effect of low self‐control on victimization is lessened in neighborhoods with high collective efficacy and further examines the multifaceted nature of neighborhood effects that interact with individual characteristics—particularly age and poverty. Employing three‐level multivariate Rasch models and cross‐level three‐way interactions, the findings reveal that low self‐control increases victimization risk, and that the effect of low self‐control is contingent on the combined effect between neighborhood collective efficacy of children, age, and poverty. The study concludes that child victimization is a product of the intricate interplay between neighborhood context—especially collective efficacy—and individual factors such as self‐control, age, and socioeconomic conditions. This research contributes importantly to building a developmental and life‐course perspective on victimization, by highlighting the intricate nature of neighborhood effects.

  PublisherDOI

• Why Do Victims Experience Repeat Victimization? Delinquent Peers, Age-Graded Dynamics, and Gender-Specific Pathways

  Journal of Quantitative Criminology · 2026-04-27

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  The peer context is crucial in victimization research, yet its role in repeat victimization remains understudied. This study examines the mediating pathways through which youth who are victimized increase delinquent peer affiliations, thereby elevating the risk of victimization later in life. Further, this study explores how this mediating mechanism changes over the life course as well as how the pathway varies by gender. The analysis uses six waves of data from a longitudinal survey of South Korean youth aged 13–18. A Random-Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model (RI-CLPM) examines within-person changes over time to identify mediating mechanisms. In addition, to assess the gender-specific pathway of repeat victimization, a multi-group RI-CLPM is applied. Findings reveal that adolescents who are victimized increase delinquent peer affiliations, which in turn increase the risk of repeat victimization in later life. The mediating pathway operates during adolescence, but not at the beginning of emerging adulthood (age 18). In addition, for girls, this mechanism is more prominent earlier in development, while for boys, it is more evident later during adolescence. These findings highlight the need for programs aimed at improving peer relationships after victimization, as well as targeted interventions, especially in the early stages of adolescence for girls and later stages for boys. The current study takes an important step toward a developmental and life-course perspective on victimization. Future research should continue to explore how peer contexts influence the cycle of victimization over time.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Aging Behind Bars: The Growth of the Older Incarcerated Adult Population and Emerging Penal Reform

  Laws · 2026-04-28

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Tough-on-crime policies, including mandatory minimum laws, three-strikes statutes, and habitual offender laws, have contributed to prison overcrowding and the growth of aging prison populations. As incarceration costs for prisoners increase, policymakers have increasingly considered early release policies for older incarcerated adults who pose a low risk of recidivism. This paper reviews recent trends in late-life incarceration and evaluates the policy logic and practical conditions under which early release may serve as a response to aging incarceration. Drawing on existing legal scholarship and prior research, we argue that early release of aging inmates likely represents a feasible and cost-effective strategy for addressing prison overcrowding without compromising public safety. The analysis further identifies the legal, institutional, and policy conditions under which early release programs for older prisoners are most likely to gain legitimacy and political support. By situating aging-related release within broader debates on punishment, proportionality, and public safety, this study contributes to ongoing discussions of sustainable and normatively grounded responses to mass incarceration.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Social Change, Cohort Effects, and Dynamics of the Age–Crime Relationship: Age and Crime in South Korea from 1967 to 2011

  Journal of Quantitative Criminology · 2023-09-19 · 13 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Explaining Variability in Trajectories of Self-Control Using Growth-Curve Modeling: The Effects of Parental Socialization and Victimization

  Crime & Delinquency · 2023-06-26 · 2 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding

  Many in recent years have found a lack of stability in self-control throughout childhood. We test whether this finding also applies to a non-US sample using six waves of data from a longitudinal survey of South Korean youth ages 13 to 18. We then expand on prior studies by testing whether trajectories of self-control are affected by parental socialization and victimization. Using hybrid growth-curve models, we find a “J-curve” pattern of self-control trajectory, whereby self-control declines in the early years, but then increases in subsequent years. Moreover, parental socialization influences variability of absolute self-control, while victimization affects relative ranking of self-control. We suggest that studies pay attention to the dynamic variability of self-control trajectories over the life course.

  PublisherDOI

• Live‐Cell Imaging of Guanosine Tetra‐ and Pentaphosphate (p)ppGpp with RNA‐based Fluorescent Sensors**

  Angewandte Chemie International Edition · 2021 · 51 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Chemistry
  • Cell biology
  • Biology

  Guanosine tetra- and pentaphosphate, (p)ppGpp, are important alarmone nucleotides that regulate bacterial survival in stressful environment. A direct detection of (p)ppGpp in living cells is critical for our understanding of the mechanism of bacterial stringent response. However, it is still challenging to image cellular (p)ppGpp. Here, we report RNA-based fluorescent sensors for the live-cell imaging of (p)ppGpp. Our sensors are engineered by conjugating a recently identified (p)ppGpp-specific riboswitch with a fluorogenic RNA aptamer, Broccoli. These sensors can be genetically encoded and enable direct monitoring of cellular (p)ppGpp accumulation. Unprecedented information on cell-to-cell variation and cellular dynamics of (p)ppGpp levels is now obtained under different nutritional conditions. These RNA-based sensors can be broadly adapted to study bacterial stringent response.

  DOI

• Self-Control, Cyberbullying, and the Moderating Effect of Opportunity

  Deviant Behavior · 2021-09-30 · 23 citations

  articleSenior author

  Extensive prior research has examined the effect of low self-control on delinquency, as well as whether this effect is moderated by criminal opportunity. The purpose of our study is to examine whether these relationships can be extended to cyberbullying as an outcome. In doing so, we discuss ways in which key theoretical arguments and common measurement strategies must be modified in order to apply to cyberbullying. Using data from a nationally representative sample of South Korean youth, the analysis reveals that low self-control is, indeed, a significant predictor of cyberbullying. Moreover, we find that the effect of low self-control on cyberbullying is amplified by criminal opportunity, but only when opportunity is measured in a manner that specifically refers to the usage of social media. In contrast, opportunity as traditionally measured has no moderating effect. We suggest several avenues for future research, and conclude that studies of cybercrime must pay careful attention to conceptualizing and operationalizing key concepts with specific regard to the differences between cybercrime and traditional forms of offending.

  PublisherDOI

• Quantifying tensile forces at cell–cell junctions with a DNA-based fluorescent probe

  Chemical Science · 2020 · 60 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Biophysics
  • Materials science
  • Chemistry

  Cells are physically contacting with each other. Direct and precise quantification of forces at cell-cell junctions is still challenging. Herein, we have developed a DNA-based ratiometric fluorescent probe, termed DNAMeter, to quantify intercellular tensile forces. These lipid-modified DNAMeters can spontaneously anchor onto live cell membranes. The DNAMeter consists of two self-assembled DNA hairpins of different force tolerance. Once the intercellular tension exceeds the force tolerance to unfold a DNA hairpin, a specific fluorescence signal will be activated, which enables the real-time imaging and quantification of tensile forces. Using E-cadherin-modified DNAMeter as an example, we have demonstrated an approach to quantify, at the molecular level, the magnitude and distribution of E-cadherin tension among epithelial cells. Compatible with readily accessible fluorescence microscopes, these easy-to-use DNA tension probes can be broadly used to quantify mechanotransduction in collective cell behaviors.

  DOI

• Current Methods for Detecting Cell Membrane Transient Interactions

  Frontiers in Chemistry · 2020 · 43 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Computer Science
  • Cell biology
  • Biology

  Short-lived cell membrane complexes play a key role in regulating cell signaling and communication. Many of these complexes are formed based on low-affinity and transient interactions among various lipids and proteins. New techniques have emerged to study these previously overlooked membrane transient interactions. Exciting functions of these transient interactions have been discovered in cellular events such as immune signaling, host-pathogen interactions, and diseases such as cancer. In this review, we have summarized current experimental methods that allow us to detect and analyze short-lived cell membrane protein-protein, lipid-protein, and lipid-lipid interactions. These methods can provide useful information about the strengths, kinetics, and/or spatial patterns of membrane transient interactions. However, each method also has its own limitations. We hope this review can be used as a guideline to help the audience to choose proper approaches for studying membrane transient interactions in different membrane trafficking and cell signaling events.

  DOI

• <i>In Situ</i> Genetically Cascaded Amplification for Imaging RNA Subcellular Locations

  Journal of the American Chemical Society · 2020 · 80 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Chemistry
  • Computational biology
  • Molecular biology

  amplified strategy can be used for the sensitive detection and location imaging of various RNA targets in living bacterial and mammalian cells. This new design principle provides an effective and versatile platform for tracking various intracellular analytes.

  DOI

Recent grants

• Defining Mechanical Landscapes at Cell-Cell Junctions

  NIH · $2.8M · 2019–2029

• CAREER: A Generalized Quantitative Imaging Approach for Small Molecules using Genetically Engineered RNA Sensors

  NSF · $500k · 2019–2024

Frequent coauthors

• Weihong Tan

  Hunan University

  419 shared

• Da Han

  Tianjin University

  145 shared

• Guizhi Zhu

  University of Michigan–Ann Arbor

  136 shared

• Cuichen Wu

  Amgen (United States)

  124 shared

• Liqin Zhang

  Peking University

  113 shared

• Liping Qiu

  Hunan University

  95 shared

• Yan Chen

  Xidian University

  76 shared

• Yifan Lyu

  Hunan University

  67 shared

Labs

• Computational Sociology and Criminology LabPI

Education

• PhD, Chemistry

  University of Florida

  2012