EWHA WOMANS UNIVERSITY | Research

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Research Team under Professors Yun-Sil Lee and So-Yeon Park of the College of Pharmacy Identifies Fibrosis Development

Research Team under Professors Yun-Sil Lee and So-Yeon Park of the College of Pharmacy Identifies Fibrosis Development Mechanism Mediated by GTSE1, a New Therapeutic Target The research team led by Professor Yun-Sil Lee from the Fibrosis Control Center (FCC) at the Ewha Womans University College of Pharmacy has identified a new therapeutic target for pulmonary fibrosis treatment, demonstrating both its efficacy and clinical applicability. The findings were published in the world-renowned journal Molecular Therapy on September 27, 2024, thereby drawing significant attention from the academic community. Pulmonary fibrosis is a type of fibrotic disease where the lungs become stiff and lose their function, which has a high incidence rate among the elderly. It can be triggered by various factors, including fine particulate matter, toxic substances, and COVID-19. Currently, no curative treatment is available. The research team identified G2 and S phase-expressed protein-1 (GTSE1) as a novel biomarker, whose expression is elevated specifically in lung tissues of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and elucidated the molecular mechanisms underlying the role of GTSE1 in the disease. The research findings indicate that GTSE1 promotes pulmonary fibrosis through the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and exacerbates the condition by inhibiting the protein degradation of zinc-finger E-box-binding homeobox 1 (ZEB1), a key transcription factor of EMT. Furthermore, experimental evidence confirmed that removing GTSE1-expressing cells alleviates fibrosis symptoms. The academic value of this study was bolstered by the implication that GTSE1 may have the potential to selectively regulate disease-related EMT without affecting EMT in healthy tissues. The research team demonstrated that the GTSE1-ZEB1 axis plays a major role in the pathology of pulmonary fibrosis, thereby paving the way for the development of new therapeutic strategies based on these findings. This study implies that GTSE1-based therapeutic strategies may open new potential for the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis. It was conducted with support from the National Research Foundation of Korea (Advanced Research Center Program, Creative and Challenging Research Project, STEAM Research Project) and the 2024 new faculty research grant from Ewha Womans University.
- No.148
- Writer
- Date2024.10.30
- Views50287
147
Finding the Key to Global Startup Success: 2024 Women’s Technology Entrepreneurship Forum Held by Ewha’s Support Corps

Finding the Key to Global Startup Success: 2024 Women’s Technology Entrepreneurship Forum Held by Ewha’s Support Corps for Business Startups Ewha Womans University’s Support Corps for Business Startups held the 2024 Women’s Technology Entrepreneurship Forum under the theme of “Woman, Global, Lab” at Lee Sam-bong Hall of the ECC building on October 14, 2024 (Mon.). Organized by the Commercialization Promotion Agency for R&D Outcomes (COMPA) as part of the project to support the exploration of market-linked business startups based on public technologies, the forum was aimed at current students and early-stage, technology-based entrepreneurs. In the first session, Professor Robert Smith, Director at George Washington University, and Dr. Jung Joo Hwang from the Institute for the Global Entrepreneur (IGE) at UC San Diego participated as keynote speakers. They introduced the I-Corps methodology of the National Science Foundation (NSF), global startup cases, and the technology commercialization process at U.S. universities. Professor Robert Smith, who has built a strong relationship with Ewha through the annual I-Corps international hands-on training program provided by George Washington University, presented core strategies for startups under the theme of “Introduction of ‘NSF I-Corps’ Methodology and Analysis of International Start-Up Cases.” Following this, Dr. Jung Joo Hwang introduced the technology commercialization process at U.S. universities, highlighting the importance of industry-academia cooperation and government support as key factors for success. She also detailed the way for domestic startups to prepare for their initial entry into overseas markets through the Global Entrepreneur Accelerator (GEA), a business localization program for a foreign startup. The second session featured presentations on successful cases of female entrepreneurs who have built businesses based on laboratory technologies. The speakers sharing their success stories included Sujin Hwang (Chemistry & Nanoscience, graduating class of 2023), President of EPLE, a company focused on developing eco-friendly rust- and scale-removal technology; Sangmi Chai, Professor of the Division of Business Administration and Founder of CoreTrustLink, a blockchain-based decentralized identity (DID) company; and Hojung Son, CEO of Smartooth Korea, a company specializing in oral diagnosis solutions. The forum concluded with a panel discussion on “Women’s Entrepreneurship: Challenges, Innovation, and Sustainable Growth Strategies,” which explored innovative cases and strategies for achieving sustainable growth in technology-based startups. Since 2021, Ewha’s Support Corps for Business Startups has been providing systematic programs to female prospective entrepreneurs and early-stage women-led lab startups through the project to support the exploration of market-linked business startups based on public technologies. These programs include opportunities for customer discovery interviews, prototype development, networking among women entrepreneurs, investment, and follow-up support, all designed to help commercialize public technologies developed in research laboratories. In addition, the organization is dedicated to identifying and nurturing outstanding female entrepreneurs with the vision of cultivating global entrepreneurial leaders who will shape the new era, thus establishing itself as a leading global institution for women’s entrepreneurship.
- No.146
- Writer
- Date2024.10.16
- Views52428
145
Ewha Research Team Leads Original Technology Development Projects in Life Sciences, Neuroscience, and Environmental Engi

Ewha Research Team Leads Original Technology Development Projects in Life Sciences, Neuroscience, and Environmental Engineering Researchers from Ewha Womans University were selected for the Original Technology Development Project, funded by the National Research Foundation of Korea, to drive the development of key technologies for advancing industrial innovation and growth. Professor Roh Tae-Young from the Department of Life Science (Graduate School) has been selected for the Future Convergence Technology Pioneer Project (strategic) under the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) Research Program promoted by the Ministry of Science and ICT. Professor Roh will be awarded KRW 4.5 billion over a period of up to five years (two + three years) to investigate the mechanisms behind dormancy and activation in liver stem cells using epigenomic analysis. The Future Convergence Technology Pioneer Project supports convergence research focused on developing key original technologies capable of creating or transforming paradigms in new technologies and industries. With his selection for this project, Professor Roh plans to present a technological solution to challenges in stem cell research that cannot be addressed with current technologies. The Pioneer Research Center (PRC) aims to secure technological competitiveness that can be applied to liver diseases and other types of cancer, by building a stem cell dormancy model, developing techniques to retain stemness and track cancerization, discovering biomarkers for detecting dormancy and developing related new drugs, and advancing technologies for dormancy-activation transitions. The PRC at Ewha is a convergence research team that includes Professor Roh Tae-Young (principal investigator) and Professor Hyuk-jin Cha from the College of Pharmacy at Seoul National University. The research team is expected to develop technologies for biomarker discovery and stem cell fate regulation through (epigenetic) genomic profiling and gene regulatory network identification based on a stem cell/organoid model in the liver regeneration process, and ultimately conduct convergence research that enables the clinical application of the original technologies required for the treatment of liver diseases, including cirrhosis, alcoholic fatty liver disease, hepatitis, and liver cancer, and tissue regeneration. The research team, led by Professor Lyoo In Kyoon from the Ewha Brain Institute, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, has also been selected to conduct a new project for the 2024 Future Convergence Technology Pioneer Project (strategic). Under this project, Professor Lyoo’s team will be awarded KRW 4.5 billion over four and a half years until December 2028 to conduct a project titled “Development of a Mental Health Care Platform for High-risk Professionals Through Mind Vital Sign Monitoring”. The research team will use wearable devices to gather various digital biomarkers from high-risk occupational groups exposed to severe job stress and conduct advanced AI modeling research using big data for precision medicine, including high-quality multimodal brain imaging data. Subsequently, the team plans to build an integrated platform that monitors and predicts the risks of mental health issues and human error in real time and provides immediate digital treatment. This research involves a number of renowned experts in the fields of advanced neuroscience, medicine, pharmacology, AI modeling, development of digital biomarkers and digital therapeutics. Through this interdisciplinary convergence research, the team aims to establish an AI-based integrated management solution for mental health risks that employs new technologies distinct from existing methods, thereby providing more systematic solutions to various stress-related situations that have recently emerged as pressing social concerns. Additionally, the research findings are expected to be applied to practical settings in collaboration with Samsung Electronics and utilized by various requesting organizations including the National Fire Agency, Seoul Metropolitan Fire & Disaster Headquarters, Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, and Korean National Police Agency. Professor Chanhyuk Park of the Department of Environmental Engineering was selected for Original Technology Development Project (pioneering) for Nano and Future Materials under the Ministry of Science and ICT’s Nano and Future Materials Technology Development Program. Professor Park will receive a total of KRW 5 billion in research funding by 2028 to develop original technologies for environmental nanomaterials aimed at the treatment of unregulated hazardous pollutants in wastewater generated by new industrial manufacturing processes and the recovery of resources. Ceramic membrane technology based on environmental nanomaterials is gaining attention for its ability to effectively treat wastewater containing high concentrations of hazardous substances produced in the manufacturing processes of new industrial sectors such as semiconductors, secondary batteries, and displays. Ceramic membranes provide excellent physical and chemical durability, maintaining stable performance even under high-temperature and high-pressure conditions. They are particularly effective at removing hazardous substances such as heavy metals and organic pollutants, while also enabling the recovery and recycling of essential resources used in new industrial manufacturing processes, such as nitrogen- and fluorine-based compounds, from wastewater. Additionally, ceramic membranes consume less energy than other wastewater treatment technologies and retain their performance even after extended use. As the lead research institution, Ewha will collaborate with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Pusan National University, the Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS), and the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT) to conduct research on wastewater treatment technologies with tangible benefits for the public. The research will focus on developing key technologies for treating unregulated water pollutants, including carcinogens found in wastewater from new industries, while also repurposing them as valuable resources, ultimately contributing to the improvement of public safety concerning water sources.
- No.144
- Writer
- Date2024.08.21
- Views74093
143
Research Team under Physics Professor William Jo Develops Next-generation Perovskite Solar Cells

Research Team under Physics Professor William Jo Develops Next-generation Perovskite Solar Cells The research team led by Professor William Jo from the Department of Physics at Ewha Womans University as part of the Ewha Frontier 10-10 Project developed a next-generation perovskite solar cell material whose efficiency and stability has been validated after undergoing over 2,000 hours of performance tests. The paper detailing the findings, titled “Autonomous control of ion migration at α-FAPbI3 heterointerfaces via interfacial-self-assembled 2D perovskite,” was published online on August 4 (Sun.), in Advanced Energy Materials (IF 24.4, top 2.6 percent in the energy and fuels category percent), a world-renowned energy and fuels journal. Professor William Jo, who is also the Director of the New and Renewable Energy Research Center and the corresponding author of the study, leads the Frontier 10-10 Project at the Department of Physics alongside Ph.D. candidate Jihyun Kim (first author). Together, the team introduced a process that incorporates ammonium ions into next-generation perovskite solar cells for the first time in the world, successfully achieving high efficiency and stability through the formation of a two-dimensional perovskite. The solar cells developed by the research team achieved a maximum efficiency of 24.38 percent and retained 92 percent of their initial performance for over 2,000 hours. It passed the longest test in Korea, lasting over twice as long as conventional solar cell performance tests, and achieved one of the highest results for efficiency and stability in the country. This globally unprecedented feat was achieved by the Ewha research team by introducing a process of adding ammonium ions (NH4+) to tin oxide (SnO2) used in the conventional electron transport layer of perovskite solar cells, thereby preventing charge imbalance within the perovskite thin film and mitigating the decrease in charge extraction capabilities at the interface adjacent to the electron transport layer. The reaction of ammonium ions with tin oxide addresses the defect where ions within the perovskite thin film are adsorbed onto the electron transport layer, thereby improving the efficiency and stability of the cell. Additionally, by utilizing the phenomenon of mutual exchange among cations with low migration barriers, the team induced the self-formation of a two-dimensional perovskite material. This material not only reduced the interface defects in the perovskite but also enhanced device performance by maintaining uniform charge distribution. The research team observed a significant improvement in the charge transport capability of the solar cell, achieving an efficiency of 24.38 percent with a charge rate of 84 percent, while maintaining 91.87 percent of the initial performance stably over 2,070 hours. The research achievements of Professor Jo’s team are credited with advancing the development of next-generation solar cells, which is essential for achieving carbon neutrality, by offering new insights and perspectives into the correlation between migration barriers and charge distribution uniformity. Moreover, these achievements are expected to facilitate the introduction of the world’s first process for adding ammonium ions to next-generation solar cell materials, thereby addressing carbon neutrality and energy challenges through improved charge distribution control. This research was conducted through collaborative efforts between the Ewha Frontier 10-10 Project at the Department of Physics, Professor Ji-Sang Park from the Department of Nano Engineering at Sungkyunkwan University, and Dr. Gee Yeong Kim from the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), with support from the National Research Foundation of Korea, including the Priority Research Institute Program, Mid-Career Researcher Program, and Technology Development Program to Solve Climate Change.
- No.142
- Writer
- Date2024.08.12
- Views81892
141
Ewha Research Teams Pioneer Development of Advanced Original Technologies

Ewha Research Teams Pioneer Development of Advanced Original Technologies Research teams from Ewha were selected for major projects initiated by the Korean government with the aim to support the development of advanced research and original technologies, thereby enabling universities to conduct global-level innovation research. The Fluorescence Core Imaging Center (Director Dongmin Kang) at the Department of Life Science was selected for the Research Infrastructure Advancement Project, under the Basic Science Research Capacity Enhancement Project organized by the Ministry of Education. Consequently, the Fluorescence Core Imaging Center will be installed and operated with cutting-edge research equipment and translational research on aging-related diseases will be conducted with project funding of approximately KRW 70 billion over the next five years. The research team from the Department of Life Sciences will set up advanced research equipment to systematically analyze diseases that occur during the aging process of small animals. They will also conduct translational research on aging-related diseases using an advanced in-vivo small animal molecular imaging system. Through advanced equipment such as the 7 Tesla MRI scanner and a micro-CT image analysis system, the team will obtain detailed multi-dimensional images of individual organisms, tissues, or cells using in vivo small animal molecular imaging technology. The Fluorescence Core Imaging Center was selected for the “Core-Facility Project” in 2019 and has been facilitating the co-utilization of research equipment and joint research with a focus on specialized research using optical molecular imaging technology. In 2022, the center was also selected for the “Bio Research Data Utilization Infrastructure Development Project” to operate the Bioimaging Data Curation Center, thereby taking the lead in securing national competitiveness in the science and technology sector. The joint research team led by Professor Taeyoung Choi from the Department of Physics was selected for the “2024 Leading Project for Quantum Technology Research and Development (Quantum Computing)” project. The Ewha research team will conduct joint research on the development of a 15-qubit ion trap-based universal quantum computing processor with high connectivity, in collaboration with research teams from Seoul National University, Kookmin University, and POSTECH. The team will focus on the development of a technology to perform high-reliability quantum superposition and entanglement based on the “ion qubit,” which demonstrates the highest performance among various quantum computing platforms. To this end, the team will receive a total of KRW 2.65 billion in research funding over four years until 2027. Professor Taeyoung Choi has demonstrated programmable quantum entanglement in five quantum information qubits for the first time in the world, a core achievement for the practical implementation of quantum computers. The team has conducted various research projects, having been consecutively selected for the “2019 Basic Research Laboratory Support Project” and the “2022 Follow-up Research Support Project for the Basic Research Laboratory,” as well as for the “2021 Quantum Computing Development Project” and the “2022 Quantum Technology Cooperation Project (Quantum Computing Field).”
- No.140
- Writer
- Date2024.07.09
- Views105386
139
Ewha Signs MOU with Syensqo, a Global-Leading Materials Company

Ewha Signs MOU with Syensqo, a Global-Leading Materials Company Ewha held a ceremony for signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Syensqo at the auditorium of the University-Industry Collaboration Center on Wednesday, June 27, and reaffirmed their commitment to continuing university-industry cooperation. Around 150 relevant people attended this event, which was held as part of “the 10th Anniversary of Ewha-Syensqo R&I Center Ceremony,” including Ewha President Eun Mee Kim; Ilham Kadri, CEO of Syensqo; Francois Bontemps, Ambassador of Belgium to the Republic of Korea; and Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong. Syensqo is a specialized materials company that was demerged in 2023 from Solvay, a Belgian global materials company. In 2011, the company signed a partnership with Ewha, and following the establishment of Ewha-Syensqo R&I Center (formerly Ewha-Solvay R&I Center) at the University-Industry Collaboration Center in 2014, the center has been conducting university-industry joint research in 13 areas such as battery solutions and artificial intelligence. With the signing of this MOU, Syensqo has committed to continuing the achievements of the past 10 years of university-industry collaboration and to providing over KRW 5 billion in research funding and scholarships over the next 10 years. Following the MOU signing ceremony, Ewha President Eun Mee Kim and Syensqo CEO Ilham Kadri engaged in a roundtable discussion on the topic of the importance of university-industry collaboration. This roundtable discussion was organized to explore sustainable university-industry collaboration and development measures based on the achievements from the previous 10 years of collaboration between Ewha and Syensqo, with a particular focus on fostering female professional talent in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields. During the discussion, CEO Ilham Kadri emphasized that universities are “game-changers” that transform industries, highlighting the significance of fostering human resources through university-industry collaboration. She also stated, “In order to better achieve innovation, it is vital to invest in human resources, and the partnership between Ewha and Syensqo is further solidifying and accelerating efforts for innovation.” President Eun Mee Kim remarked, “The strong bonds we’ve built through university-industry collaboration will lay the foundation to enhance the capabilities of the next generation of talented women in STEM fields.” The discussion also covered various topics, including strategies for fostering female talent in STEM fields and the future vision of Syensqo. As the roundtable discussion concluded, CEO Ilham Kadri expressed her hope that Ewha Womans University will go on to produce Korea’s first female Nobel Prize winner.
- No.138
- Writer
- Date2024.06.28
- Views99490
137
Ewha Frontier 10-10 Project Team from Department of Physics Hosts 1st ICQS 2024

Ewha Frontier 10-10 Project Team from Department of Physics Hosts 1st ICQS 2024 Ewha Frontier 10-10 Project Team from the Department of Physics, headed by Professor William Jo, hosted the International Conference on Quantum Simulation 2024 (ICQS 2024) from Wednesday, June 19 to Friday, June 21 at the Lee Sam-bong Hall of the ECC building. The Center for Quantum Materials Research from the Department of Physics is one of the teams selected for the Ewha Frontier 10-10 Project in leading research fields, and now conducts research in fields such as nano-optics and quantum metamaterials, renewable energy, next-generation semiconductors and intelligent devices, quantum computing, nano-bio and biophysics, condensed physics theory, and gravitational waves and quantum gravity. This conference was organized for the first time this year to bring together world-renowned scholars in quantum computing and quantum simulation to discuss the latest research achievements and future prospects, and to strengthen networking among related institutions. The opening ceremony for ICQS 2024 took place on Wednesday, June 19, at the Lee Sam-bong Hall of the ECC building. The event commenced with a welcoming speech by Eun-Ah Kim, Chair of the Organizing Committee, who is also a professor at the Department of Physics at Cornell University and an invited chair professor of the Department of Physics at Ewha Womans University. This was followed by welcoming remarks from Ewha President Eun Mee Kim and congratulatory messages from Soonchil Lee, Director of the Division of Quantum Technology at the National Research Foundation of Korea. ICQS 2024 was attended by over 200 participants, including students, researchers, professors from prestigious domestic and international universities, and senior executives from global companies, thereby demonstrating significant interest in the three-day event. Notably, leading experts in quantum computing and simulation, such as Professor Mikhail Lukin of Harvard University, Professor Steven Girvin of Yale University, Professor William Oliver of MIT, Professor Chris Monroe of Duke University, Dr. Pedram Roushan of Google, and Dr. Jay Gambetta of IBM, delivered in-depth lectures on quantum computing and quantum simulation based on various physical platforms, including superconducting qubits, ion qubits, and neutral atom qubits. The academic depth of the event was further enhanced by the participation of faculty from prestigious universities such as Tsinghua University in China and the University of Tokyo in Japan. The conference received high praise from participants for its diverse program of keynote and guest lectures, as well as poster sessions where researchers presented and discussed their work.
- No.136
- Writer
- Date2024.06.21
- Views116279
135
Department of Chemistry & Nanoscience Consecutively Selected for Government-funded Projects

Department of Chemistry & Nanoscience Consecutively Selected for Government-funded Projects Research teams from the Department of Chemistry and Nanoscience were consecutively selected for government-funded projects, showcasing their excellent research capabilities. Professor Juyoung Yoon from the Department of Chemistry and Nanoscience was selected for the Nano and Material Technology Development project (pioneering) by the Ministry of Science and ICT. His project will focus on non-pharmacological human-derived nanotherapeutic technology for refractory cancer treatment, aiming to develop magnetic and ultrasound-targeted nanotherapeutics for synergistic non-pharmacological immunotherapy against refractory cancer. This research team, led by Ewha Womans University with the participation of partner institutions such as Korea University, Yonsei University, the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), and the Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS), will receive a total of KRW 4.8 billion in research funding over four years and nine months (three years + two years). The research team consisting of five institutions will conduct research aimed at developing safe nanotherapeutics through the reversible binding of human-derived materials and creating materials for non-pharmacological anticancer effects using magnetic/ultrasound physical targeting to treat fibrotic refractory cancers. Professor Sun-Shin Cha from the Department of Chemistry and Nanoscience was selected for the Bio-Medical Technology Development project operated by the Ministry of Science and ICT. He will receive approximately KRW 2.6 billion in funding until 2028 to develop original technology for retrobiosynthesis with the aim of designing and producing next-generation therapeutic candidates. The Ewha research team, in collaboration with teams from Seoul National University (the lead research institution), KAIST, Inha University, Konkuk University, and Kangwon National University, will select six bioactive target compounds with different mechanisms of action, and use retrobiosynthesis technology to attempt the structural diversification of new derivatives. The Ewha research team will study the mechanisms of bioactive secondary metabolites derived from microorganisms and plants by structure-based elucidation of the interactions between target proteins and new therapeutic candidate compounds with the ultimate goal of developing new therapeutic candidates that exhibit optimal activity and minimal toxicity, surpassing the efficacy of the original compounds. Meanwhile, the Center for Hybrid Interfacial Chemical Structure, led by Professor So-Jung Park from the Department of Chemistry and Nanoscience, was recently selected for a follow-up project under the 2024 Support Program for Global Leading Research Center by the National Research Foundation of Korea. Established to study interfacial phenomena in chemical materials, the center has been conducting research on chemical and electronic structural interactions in hybrid compound interfaces since its designation as a Leading Research Center supported by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Research Foundation of Korea in 2017. Through this follow-up project, the center plans to enhance the complexity of chemical materials and develop meta-properties rarely seen in nature. The Center for Future Sustainable Molecular Design Research at the Department of Chemistry and Nanoscience was selected for the “Ewha Frontier 10-10 Project” in leading research fields aimed at fostering a creative research ecosystem. The center focuses on developing advanced materials and nano-molecular science in the energy, environment, and bio-health sectors. To this end, the center conducts joint research systematically with world-renowned scholars to develop essential original technologies for a sustainable future society and leads key research areas that ensure the nation’s future competitiveness, thereby establishing itself as a world-class research group.
- No.134
- Writer
- Date2024.06.10
- Views95406
133
Ewha Research Teams Accelerate Development of Core Technology

Ewha research teams were recently selected for major government-supported projects, positioning themselves at the forefront of discovering new growth drivers for the future. A research consortium organized and conducted by Professor Jin-Kyu Rhee of the Department of Food Science and Biotechnology was selected for the “Development of Aquatic Cultured Meat Production Technology” project under the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, receiving approximately KRW 8.5 billion in funding from the government until 2028 to accelerate the development of aquatic cultured meat technology. Aquatic cultured meat refers to food manufactured by culturing tissues or cells derived from aquatic animals such as fish, shellfish, and crustaceans to reverse-engineer conventional fish meat, a R&D sector which has been gaining attention under the moniker of “Blue Food,” meaning sustainable seafood that aligns with nutritional, environmental, and food security values. In January this year, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries suggested research proposals for developing seaweed-based alternative meat and aquatic cultured meat technologies to lead the Blue Food technology market. Professor Jin-Kyu Rhee’s research team plans to culture cells from convict groupers, oysters, ark clams, and prawns to develop both raw and processed seafood products. The team will also establish processing guidelines for aquatic cultured meat and conduct toxicity and safety-related research. Their goal is the market release of aquatic cultured meat at a cost of 120 percent or less of the target seafoods. Successfully developing cell cultures and biomimicry technology from seafood sources is expected to provide Korea with a competitive edge in the global Blue Food technology market. Professor Youngjoo Kwon of the College of Pharmacy, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences has been selected for the Future Pioneers of Promising Convergence Technologies project (strategic) under the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) Research program by the Ministry of Science and ICT. Over the next five years (two + three years), her research team will receive up to KRW 4.6 billion in funding. Their work will focus on developing an organoid phenocopy system, an AI-based drug response prediction model, and new targeted therapies. The Future Pioneers of Promising Convergence Technologies project supports convergence research aimed at developing mission-oriented core technologies that drive innovation and foster changes in emerging technologies and industry paradigms. The Ewha Pioneer Research Center (EPRC), led by Professor Kwon, will concentrate on colorectal cancer - a particularly challenging type of cancer due to its high metastasis rates, patient diversity, and significant spatial heterogeneity. The primary goal of EPRC is to build an organoid phenotype system to overcome refractory colorectal cancers. By employing CRISP/cas9 gene editing technology, the team will establish a system to produce and culture organoids incorporating gene mutations derived from colorectal cancer patients. This approach will enable the creation of a comprehensive pathway profiling database based on colorectal cancer genotypes. This database will be used to train deep learning models, which will facilitate the development of a drug response prediction model. Ultimately, the research aims to identify factors that contribute to drug resistance and to develop new drug candidates for targeted therapies.
- No.132
- Writer
- Date2024.06.05
- Views42387
131
Institute for Development and Human Security Hosts Conference on Gender and Development Cooperation in Korea

Institute for Development and Human Security Hosts Conference on Gender and Development Cooperation in Korea On Tuesday, May 28, the Institute for Development and Human Security hosted the “Conference on Gender and Development Cooperation in Korea” at the ECC Lee Sam-bong Hall. The conference aimed to explore ways to advance gender and development cooperation in Korea, focusing on discussing the direction and advancement of gender equality ODA (Official Development Assistance) in Korea to address the global exacerbation of the gender gap due to COVID-19 through development cooperation. The event began with a welcoming speech by President Eun Mee Kim and a congratulatory address by Director Jeongshim Lee of the UN Women Centre of Excellence for Gender Equality. President Shin Hei-soo of the Korea Center for United Nations Human Rights Policy (KOCUN) subsequently gave a keynote speech in which she discussed trends in gender equality and development cooperation, the current status of gender equality ODA support in OECD countries, and the future challenges for Korea in terms of gender equality ODA. The conference consisted of two main roundtable sessions. In the first session, Korean public sector officials from the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the Korean Women’s Development Institute, and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) participated as panelists to highlight Korea’s expanding role in gender equality ODA and discuss further advancement strategies. In the second session, experts from Asia Women Bridge DoRunDoRun, World Vision, the Asia Foundation, and the Korea Center for Gendered Innovations in Science and Technology Research (GISTeR) discussed major activities for gender and development cooperation in Korea’s private sector, presenting Korea’s gender ODA efforts and sharing experiences from civil society organizations to reaffirm the significant role of civil society organizations and NGOs in Korea’s gender ODA. Established in 2007, the Institute for Development and Human Security has conducted extensive research on international development cooperation, with a particular focus on global health since 2013. It was the first institution in Korea to be selected for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s grant program and receive grants for three consecutive times for a total of nine years. The institute is currently conducting research projects on Korea’s gender and global health ODA in 2023, leading ongoing discussions on enhancing global health cooperation and gender equality in development cooperation.
- No.130
- Writer
- Date2024.05.30
- Views35752

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