Cheon Jong-sik, adviser at CJ Bioscience and former professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Seoul National University, received an international award in recognition of contributions to bacterial systematics. The University of Queensland senate said on the 21st (local time), "On the recommendation of the International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes (ICSP) executive board, we selected Professor Cheon as the 2020–2024 Van Niel International Award for Research in Bacterial Systematics recipient."
The University of Queensland senate said Cheon has published more than 280 papers, over 80 of which appeared in the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. It noted in particular that Cheon published numerous papers on sequencing methods in microbial systematics.
Sequencing is the work of determining the order in which the four bases that make up genes are arranged. Living organisms link amino acids according to this sequence to synthesize proteins that govern all life phenomena. Cheon, as a university professor, developed tools one after another to analyze microbial sequences.
These tools also made a major contribution to microbiome (symbiotic microorganisms) research. The human microbiome plays an important role in the metabolism of various nutrients and is known to be related not only to metabolic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia, but also to cancer, brain diseases, and aging.
Cheon founded ChunLab, a microbiome-specialized company, in 2009. ChunLab was listed on KOSDAQ in Dec. 2019, and in Oct. 2021 CJ CheilJedang acquired it and it became CJ Bioscience. Cheon left the university to lead microbiome drug development as CEO of CJ Bioscience, and now, as a full-time adviser, supports research and development (R&D).
The Van Niel International Award was established in 1986 with funds donated by V. B. D. Skerman, a professor in the Department of Microbiology at the University of Queensland, to honor the achievements of Cornelis Bernardus van Niel (1897–1985), a professor at the Hopkins Marine Station and a master in bacterial systematics. The recipient is announced every three to four years.
Professor van Niel, a native of the Netherlands who conducted bacterial research in the United States, proved that photosynthesis is a redox reaction induced by light. He was the first biologist to receive the U.S. National Medal of Science. He in particular defined prokaryotes as cells whose nuclear material is not surrounded by a nuclear membrane. This definition is still used today.
The Van Niel International Award ceremony is scheduled to take place at the International Union of Microbiological Societies (IUMS) annual meeting in Lisbon, Portugal, in Nov.
References
International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology (2026), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1099/ijsem.0.007255