Asan Foundation Holds 19th Asan Award in Medicine Ceremony

On March 18, the Asan Foundation held the 19th Asan Medical Award ceremony at the Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul, presenting a prize of 300 million won each to Hoyoung Lee, Professor of Pharmacy at Seoul National University, winner of the Basic Medicine category, and Seungup Kim, Professor of Gastroenterology at Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, winner of the Clinical Medicine category.

(From the left) Joo Myung Lee, Professor of Cardiology at Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seungup Kim, Professor of Gastroenterology at Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Mongjun Chung, Chairman of Asan Foundation, Hoyoung Lee, Professor of Pharmacy at Seoul National University, and Martin Steinegger, Professor of Life Sciences at Seoul National University. Asan Foundation

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Martin Steinegger, Professor of Life Sciences at Seoul National University, and Joo Myung Lee, Professor of Cardiology at Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine (age 45), winners in the Young Medical Scientist category, each received 50 million won, with a total of 700 million won awarded to four recipients.

Professor Hoyoung Lee, winner of the Basic Medicine category, was recognized for systematically elucidating the molecular mechanisms by which environmental factors such as smoking and fine dust accelerate the development and progression of lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and for proposing new therapeutic strategies based on these findings.

Professor Seungup Kim, winner of the Clinical Medicine category, was acknowledged for leading the field of non-invasive liver fibrosis diagnostics in Korea by pioneering the use of transient elastography (FibroScan) with ultrasound in 2005, thereby establishing a new standard for liver disease treatment.

Professor Martin Steinegger, winner in the Young Medical Scientist category, which is awarded to medical scientists under the age of 45, was recognized for driving innovation in protein structural analysis by developing software that predicts and analyzes protein structures hundreds of times faster and more accurately than existing methods, utilizing big data and machine learning technologies. Professor Joo Myung Lee was honored for his world-class research achievements in coronary artery disease, particularly in the fields of cardiovascular interventional imaging and physiological assessments, contributing to improved patient outcomes.

Chairman Mongjun Chung remarked in his congratulatory address, "Medical science not only contributes to overcoming human diseases but also has much to offer as an industry that will illuminate the future of our country and the world. I hope that the Asan Medical Award will contribute, even in a small way, to the advancement of medical science."

The Asan Foundation established the Asan Medical Award in 2008 to encourage medical scientists who have achieved outstanding accomplishments in basic and clinical medicine. To date, the award has been given to a total of 61 recipients (16 in basic medicine, 17 in clinical medicine, and 28 in the young medical scientist category).

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