Professor Hyeong-jin Choi from the Department of Medical Science and Anatomy at Seoul National University. /Courtesy of CHOSUNBIZ

Professor Choi Hyung-jin of the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Anatomy at Seoul National University has been selected as the recipient of the Im Seong-ki Researcher Award, established to honor the commitment and philosophy of the late Im Seong-ki, founder of Hanmi Pharmaceutical, in developing new drugs. The 'Young Researcher Award' for researchers under the age of 45 goes to Professor Lim Se-jin of Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine and Professor Lee Won-hwa of Sungkyunkwan University Department of Chemistry.

The Im Seong-ki Foundation noted on the 14th that it held a board meeting on 8th and selected three recipients for the 4th Im Seong-ki Researcher Award. The award ceremony will be held in early March. The recipient of the grand prize will receive a plaque and a monetary award of 300 million won, while the two recipients of the Young Researcher Award will each receive a plaque and 50 million won.

The Im Seong-ki Researcher Award was established by the Im Seong-ki Foundation, founded by the late chairman's family, to carry on the chairman's legacy in developing new drugs. The foundation formed a separate review committee composed of scholars in the fields of medicine, pharmacy, and life sciences to rigorously select the awardees.

Professor Choi Hyung-jin identified, for the first time in the world, that glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1 obesity treatments induce satiety and suppress appetite simply by acting on the hypothalamus in the brain to recognize food. The research for which he received the award is evaluated as a fundamental scientific discovery related to the brain's satiety center and cognitive science. There was also the achievement of having a related paper published in the prestigious scientific journal Science. The Im Seong-ki Foundation remarked, "Professor Choi is pioneering innovative research that integrates endocrinology and basic brain science, and it is expected that his research results and achievements will open new horizons in the future."

Professor Se-jin Lim from Sungkyunkwan University (left) and Professor Won-hwa Lee from Sungkyunkwan University are selected as the recipients of the 4th Lim Seong-ki Researcher Award for Young Researchers. /Courtesy of Lim Seong-ki Foundation

Professor Lim Se-jin, who is receiving the Young Researcher Award, has made significant breakthroughs in the development of immunotherapy strategies for graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). GVHD is a condition where lymphocytes transfused during the bone marrow transplant process attack the body of immunocompromised patients, causing various complications. It has a very high mortality rate, making it deadly.

Professor Lim discovered a new subset of CD8 T cells expressing the transcriptional regulator TCF1, which has exclusive proliferation potential, using a model of allogeneic transplantation. He also revealed that while TCF1-expressing T cells function as resource cells, Tim-3-expressing T cells are the main cell population responsible for inducing GVHD. These achievements received high praise for their potential as crucial foundational data for the future development of immunosuppressants and immunomodulators.

Professor Lee Won-hwa, the recipient of the Young Researcher Award, has elucidated the new pathological role of TOX protein, which is expressed when infected with the virus SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19. This research is regarded as a groundbreaking achievement that reveals the principles of severe inflammatory reactions and tissue damage caused by viral infections in vulnerable populations such as the elderly and those with underlying conditions. It made a significant contribution by suggesting new therapeutic strategies to treat pulmonary fibrosis and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) caused by respiratory infections.

Professor Lee has proposed various approaches to treating severe respiratory and infectious diseases and has accumulated a broad range of achievements from basic research to clinical applications. This research demonstrates the need for an integrated approach that combines basic scientific understanding with practical applications in the treatment and management of inflammatory diseases, proving its leading role in the field.

Kim Chang-soo, chairman of the Im Seong-ki Foundation, said, "This year’s Im Seong-ki Researcher Award recipients have achieved innovative results in areas that have garnered global attention recently, providing important insights for the development of new drugs. The Im Seong-ki Foundation will continue to do its best to discover and support promising researchers in the fields of biotechnology and pharmaceutical research, which require long durations and significant expenses."