Chonnam National University Establishes Physician-Scientist Training Platform Based on 'K-MediST'

Collaboration with GIST

Joint Degree Programs Combining Medicine, Engineering, and AI

Chonnam National University has launched an integrated platform to foster physician-scientists and drive biohealth innovation in response to changes in the medical paradigm. By connecting Chonnam National University Medical School, GIST, Hwasun Chonnam National University Hospital, and local companies, the university is bringing together education, research, clinical practice, and commercialization. This initiative is emerging as a key pillar in transforming Gwangju and Jeonnam into a global medical cluster.

Professor Min Jungjun, Chonnam National University. Courtesy of Chonnam National University

According to Chonnam National University on April 28, this project centers on establishing a physician-scientist training platform based on the 'K-MediST (MIRACLE)' initiative. The goal is to nurture convergence-type talent who can understand both clinical practice and research, as medical research shifts from animal experiments to a focus on human-based clinical data and artificial intelligence (AI).

In particular, Chonnam National University plans to operate a joint degree program combining medicine, engineering, and AI through collaboration between the medical school and Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST). The university also aims to build a structure that extends beyond education and research to actual clinical settings and industry.

The two institutions will conduct research and development and technology commercialization in parallel, centering on a joint research center. Through demonstration-based research involving hospitals and companies, they plan to link the field application of medical technologies to market entry.

This project goes beyond educational programs and aspires to create an 'integrated platform-type university model' that connects education, research, clinical practice, and commercialization into a single framework. The model features joint degrees, joint research centers, industry-academia-hospital collaboration systems, and support for technology transfer and startups, enabling the university's research outcomes to expand into industry and the market.

This structure is being realized through regional demonstration and industrial collaboration. Chonnam National University is building a research ecosystem connected to the Gwangju and Jeonnam biohealth industry, based on partnerships with Hwasun Chonnam National University Hospital, local bio companies, and research institutes.

Through these efforts, the university aims to address unmet needs in local clinical practice while producing physician-scientists of global caliber to develop the region into a world-class medical cluster.

Professor Min Jungjun of Chonnam National University Medical School stated, "In today’s era, medicine must operate as an integrated field, with clinical work, research, and technology no longer separated. Chonnam National University will build a new university model that links education and research to industry, centered on the training of physician-scientists."

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