Stanford University's Dicerros and Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine Professor An Myeongju Awarded Asan Medical Award

Professor Karl Deisseroth of the Department of Bioengineering and Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University in the United States and Professor Myung-Joo Ahn of the Department of Hematology-Oncology at Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, were selected as the recipients of the 18th Asan Medical Award.

(From left) The 18th Asan Medical Award recipients: Karl Daiseros, An Myeongju, Park Yonggeun, and Choi Hongyun. Provided by Asan Foundation for Social Welfare

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According to the Asan Foundation on the 21st, Professor Deisseroth, the awardee in the basic medical science category, is recognized as the founder of optogenetics, a genetic technology that controls cells in living tissues with light using light-responsive proteins. He was honored for his contributions to understanding the cellular basis of sensation, cognition, and behavior, and for elucidating the mechanisms connecting the brain and behavior.

He has also contributed to the advancement of medical science in Korea by inviting Korean medical scientists to his Stanford laboratory to transfer optogenetics technology and by dedicating himself to training future researchers.

Professor Myung-Joo Ahn, the awardee in the clinical medical science category, is a world-renowned authority in the fields of lung cancer and head and neck cancer. Through extensive translational research, including the development of biomarkers that predict treatment efficacy, he has contributed to the advancement of oncology.

Professor Ahn published the clinical research results of 'Talazoparib,' a new immunotherapy drug for small cell lung cancer, which is characterized by rapid progression and low survival rates, as the first author in the 2023 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). This played a crucial role in Talazoparib obtaining approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Professors Yong-Geun Park of the Department of Physics at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and Hong-Yoon Choi of the Department of Nuclear Medicine at Seoul National University Hospital were selected as recipients of the Young Medical Scientist Award, given to medical scientists under the age of 45.

Professor Park developed the foundational technology of 'holotomography,' which measures and analyzes cells and tissues in high-resolution 3D images without staining, contributing to the advancement of the bioimaging field.

Professor Choi conducted research integrating various fields by analyzing nuclear medicine molecular imaging and spatial transcriptome data using artificial intelligence (AI) technology and fusing them with medical imaging, presenting new directions for medical diagnosis and treatment.

The award ceremony will be held on March 18 at the Westin Chosun Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul. Professor Deisseroth will receive a prize of USD 250,000, Professor Ahn will receive 300 million KRW, and each recipient of the Young Medical Scientist Award will receive 50 million KRW.

The Asan Foundation established the Asan Medical Award in 2008 to encourage medical scientists who have achieved outstanding accomplishments in the fields of basic and clinical medical sciences, and has awarded the Asan Medical Award to a total of 53 individuals to date.

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