image: Panorama of Korea University College of Medicine
Credit: KU Medicine
Korea University’s College of Medicine was selected by the Ministry of Science and ICT for 24 Basic Research Projects, Receiving Research Fund of 17.3 billion Won
The faculty of Korea University’s College of Medicine has been selected for the first new project of the 2025 Basic Research Project hosted by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Research Foundation of Korea. The project supports excellent researchers, and it will grant a total of 17.3 billion won in research funds.
The Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Research Foundation of Korea recently announced the results of the first basic research project selection for 2025. Korea University’s College of Medicine was selected for a total of 24 projects in 6 project fields.
In the type 1 mid-sized research field project, eleven people were selected for the General Project to support creative individual research in cultivating excellent basic research capabilities and laying the foundation for growth as a leading researcher. Four people were selected for the Global Cooperation Project to support systematic research for growth and advancement as a global leading researcher and creation of innovative results. Two people were selected for the Leaping-forward Project to support the advancement of research results and creation of innovative results.
Also, in the new research field, four people were selected for the Excellent New Researcher Project to maximize the creative research and research capabilities of new researchers. One person was selected for the Sejong Science Fellowship to encourage the research and growth of young scientists. Furthermore, two people were selected for the New Researcher Infrastructure Support Project to support the early establishment of core infrastructure such as laboratory.
A total of eleven professors were selected for the General Project, and they will receive approximately 8.5 billion won of research funds for up to 5 years. From the College of Medicine, Professor Hwang Sun Wook of the Department of Convergence Medicine (who identified pain relief mechanism based on control of unexplored receptors specific to nociceptor subclusters), and Research Professor Ryu Jae Ryun of the Department of Anatomy (who studied dynamics and regulatory mechanisms for human specific postnatal development/maturation of the nervous system based on organ cultured neural organoids) will conduct research. From Anam Hospital, Professor Kwon Yeongkeun of the Department of Foregut Surgery (who identified blood sugar control mechanism according to the activity of aromatic amino acid metabolic pathway: based on multiomics data of metabolic surgery patients) will conduct research.
From Korea University’s Guro Hospital, Professor Park Il-Ho of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (who identified pathophysiology of neutrophil infiltration and microinflammatory environment in eosinophilic chronic rhinosinusitis through analysis of complex systems and developed customized treatment strategies), Professor Kim Hyun Koo of the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery (who performed precise cancer surgery using cancer-derived exosome biomarker targeting theranostic fluorescent probes), Professor Song Joon Young of the Department of Infectious Diseases (who discovered personalized microbiome treatment candidates for immunoaging and improving vaccine immune responses), Professor Yoon Joon Shik of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (who developed innovative AI-based ultrasound diagnostic criteria for diagnosing peripheral nerve and muscle damage beyond electromyography), and Professor Song Jong Suk of the Department of Ophthalmology (who developed an ocular toxicity assessment system and in vivo validation for microplastic using a microfluidic device) will conduct research.
From Korea University’s Ansan Hospital, Professor Park Dae Won of the Department of Infectious Diseases (who subclassified sepsis using RNA sequencing, identified immunometabolic regulation mechanisms, and discovered biomarkers predicting prognosis and treatment), Professor Lee Ju Han of the Department of Pathology (studied lung carcinogenicity via chronic respiratory exposure to cooking oil fume substances), and Professor Yu Ji Hee of the Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism (who discovered new drug candidates and biomarkers for steatohepatitis by metabolism abnormality through multi-target strategy) will conduct research.
As for the Global Cooperation Project, Professor Park Joong Jean of the Department of Physiology (who identified the mechanism for improving age associated memory impairment through blood-brain barrier regulation of nuclear cytoplasmic transport factors), and Professor Lee Jun-Seok of the Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine (who studied on drug activity control techniques using an optical switch) will join the project. From Anam Hospital, Professor Han Kyu-Man of the Department of Psychiatry (who developed a neuroimaging-epigenetics-inflammation-digital phenotypic biomarker-based model for predicting suicide risk in major depressive disorder) will join the project. From Guro Hospital, Professor Kim Jin Won of the Department of Cardiology (developed in vivo cell tracking imaging and control techniques related to cerebral cardiovascular atherosclerotic plaque rupture with an immunological mechanism) will join the project. These professors will receive research fund of approximately 3.9 billion won for up to 5 years.
As for the Leaping-forward Project, Professor Kim Tae Hoon of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (who established the OASIS (Optimized AI-driven Single-cell Integration System platform for innovation in allergy drug development), and Professor Pyun Sung Bom of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Anam Hospital (who established a neuroplasticity and long-term trajectory modeling of poststroke language function recovery based on a neural network dynamics mapping) were selected to receive research fund of approximately 1.6 billion won until 2028.
As for the Excellent New Researcher Project, Professor Jung Suk Song of the Department of Medical Information, College of Medicine (developed a reversible fatty liver disease recovery index, and simulation-based fatty liver disease prevention as well as management program) will join the project. From Anam Hospital, Professor Noh Tae Il of the Department of Urology (who developed bladder cancer treatment technology using intra-bladder injection of nano-anticancer delivery system), and Professor Shin Jae Min of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (established and advanced the NOVA (Next-gen Optimization, Validation, AI-driven) platform: AI-based next-generation allergy treatment substance exploration and validation system), and Professor Lee Seon Wook of the Department of Neurology (who developed advanced modeling of video head impulse test and its application to the next-generation medical technology) will join the project. The professors will receive research fund of approximately 2.5 billion won until 2030.
As for the Sejong Science Fellowship, Professor Jung Eun Seon of BK21, College of Medicine (who studied CA9 inhibition mechanism and developed target drug to overcome TNBC cold tumor) was selected to receive research fund of approximately 600 million won for 5 years.
As for the New Researcher Infrastructure Support Project, Professor Kim Wooseob of the Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine (established an advanced system for creating monoclonal antibody for antibody-based B cell research), and Professor Kwon Hyun Woo of the Department of Nuclear Medicine, Ansan Hospital (built a server computer to conduct whole-genome sequencing research on East Asian cancer patients) will receive research fund of approximately 400 million won for 1 year to focus on their challenging researches.
Dean Pyun Sung Bom of Korea University’s College of Medicine said, “We were selected for the research projects because the faculty of Korea University’s College of Medicine was recognized for excellent research capabilities and achievements. We will continue to make active investments and supports to enhance our research capabilities.”