Lee Kyung, a professor at Dongguk University College of Pharmacy, was selected as the recipient of the academic promotion award at the 25th Korea L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards.
L'Oréal Korea said on the 27th that it held the 25th Korea L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science awards ceremony, sponsored with the Korean National Commission for UNESCO and organized by the Women's Bioscience Forum, on the 23rd at Hotel Naru MGallery in Mapo-gu, Seoul.
Professor Lee has studied a new drug development strategy that, instead of directly attacking so-called "undruggable" target proteins for which therapeutics are hard to develop, regulates the factors that interact with those proteins. The selection recognized achievements including the development of candidate inhibitors of the KRAS protein, which is involved in pancreatic, lung, and colorectal cancers, and the identification of factors that regulate the hypoxic environment of cancer cells.
For the fellowships awarded to early-career women scientists, Kang Ji-seung, a professor at Korea University; Jeong Hye-hyeon, a professor at Asan Medical Center; Kim Jin-eun, a postdoctoral researcher at the California Institute of Technology; and Lee Ji-young, a professor at Ajou University, were selected.
Professor Kang is researching the association between drugs and disease risk using medical big data. Professor Jeong is working on predicting chemotherapy response in patients with pancreatobiliary cancer and developing personalized treatments. Researcher Kim combined artificial intelligence (AI) with neurophysiological experiments to study how the brain chooses behaviors when different drives, such as hunger or aggression, conflict. Professor Lee is developing organic-material batteries that reduce the use of rare metals and technologies to recycle electrodes from spent batteries.
The Korea L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards began in 2002 to support the research activities of women scientists in Korea and the growth of early-career researchers. Including repeat honorees, a total of 110 people have received the award through this year.
Rodrigo Pizarro, CEO of L'Oréal Korea, said, "The journey we have taken over the past 25 years with UNESCO and the Women's Bioscience Forum has been a time that proved how important the role of women is in Korea's scientific community," and noted, "Marking this meaningful 25th anniversary, L'Oréal will continue to support more women scientists so they can grow into key players shaping the future of science."
Meanwhile, the global L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards launched in 1998 and selects women scientists from five continents each year. Seven past honorees have later received the Nobel Prize. In Korea, Dr. Yoo Myung-hee was selected in 1998, and V. Narry Kim, a professor at Seoul National University, was selected in 2008.