UNIST Graduate Student Selected as Representative Scholar of Asan Social Welfare Foundation

Hyunwoo Kim, a graduate student in the Department of Life Sciences at UNIST, was selected as a 2023 Asan Foundation Biomedical Science Talent Scholarship recipient.

At the Asan Social Welfare Foundation scholarship certificate awarding ceremony held on the 23rd at Seoul Asan Hospital, Hyunwoo Kim was chosen as a new scholar and representative of the scholarship recipients, receiving an annual scholarship of 20 million KRW for up to four years.

Hyunwoo Kim is conducting research on membrane contact site proteins of cellular organelles. This research aims to elucidate the principles of intracellular metabolism and can serve as an important foundation for treating various metabolic diseases that humans may experience.

One of the research achievements was published in June 2022 in the international journal Nature Communications.

In this study, where Hyunwoo Kim participated as the sole first author, the structure and role of Mitoguardin-2 (MIGA2), known as a mitochondrial outer membrane protein and a transport protein, were identified for the first time worldwide.

Kim Hyun-woo, a student in the Department of Life Sciences, selected as the representative scholarship student of the Asan Social Welfare Foundation in 2023 (left), and his advisor, Professor Lee Chang-wook of the Department of Life Sciences.

Hyunwoo Kim stated, “I want to greatly contribute to the treatment of obesity and lipid metabolism diseases through research developing inhibitors based on the structure of MIGA2,” adding, “Moreover, I want to grow as a scientist who contributes to the healthy and happy life of humanity by further studying various metabolic pathways occurring in cells.”

Going forward, based on prior research showing that knocking out MIGA2 protein suppresses fatty liver formation and obesity, Hyunwoo Kim plans to conduct research to develop inhibitors of MIGA2.

The Asan Social Welfare Foundation has been selecting scholarship recipients among graduate students in related fields since 2017 to foster talent in biomedical sciences. UNIST has been producing new scholarship recipients annually and has distinguished itself in nurturing excellent researchers in the biomedical science field.

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