Priority Immune Functions in Virus Infectious Disease Response... Highlighting the 'Microbiome'

Microbiome Emerges as a Hot R&D Topic in Pharmaceutical, Bio, Health Food, and Cosmetics Industries... Assemblywoman Jeon Hye-sook Emphasizes Strengthening Immunity-Based Technology Through Microbiome R&D

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Amid the recent spotlight on ‘microbiome’ as a hot issue in bio R&D, the K-BioHealth 2nd Forum, jointly hosted by academia, industry, and government agencies, is drawing significant attention.

This forum is co-hosted by National Assembly member Jeon Hye-sook, the Health Consumer Solidarity, the Korea Health Functional Food Association, and Health Consumer, and will be held on the 28th from 3:30 PM for two hours under the theme ‘The Importance of Microbiome Research’ via Zoom video conference and live broadcast on YouTube (Jeon Hye-sook TV).

As new infectious diseases such as COVID-19 spread, the fact that human immunity is deeply connected to the microbiome has emerged, further highlighting the importance of this research.

In particular, research and development to strengthen immunity?including studies on immune function activation against viral infections, new drug development for immune enhancement, functional food research, and functional cosmetics research?are spreading throughout the health industry. The microbiome is emerging as a core R&D sector not only in pharmaceuticals and health functional foods but also in various fields such as the cosmetics industry, with products utilizing it appearing one after another, which is why this forum is attracting much interest.

This forum features presentations by Professor Lee Dong-ho (Bundang Seoul National University Hospital), Professor Kang Jae-sun (Kyungsung University College of Pharmacy), and Principal Researcher Lee Jeong-sook (Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology) on the topics ▲ Your Gut Health Changes the Fate of COVID ▲ The Present and Future of Probiotics ▲ Establishment and Utilization Support of Microbiome Physical Resource Bank Infrastructure, respectively.

Additionally, discussions will be led by Section Chief Oh Il-woong (Ministry of Food and Drug Safety), Section Chief Lee Byung-hee (Ministry of Science and ICT), and Professor Eom Ae-sun (Hanyang University), followed by a Q&A session where online attendees can ask questions to the presenters and panelists.

Assembly member Jeon Hye-sook stated, “Through the experience of COVID-19, the global health care community is emphasizing the importance of immunity and prevention and providing direction. I hope this forum will revisit the importance of tracking the constitutional characteristics of Koreans, understanding their unique immune systems, and conducting fundamental R&D to strengthen them.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.