UNIST to accelerate discovery, development of new medicines for incurable diseases

On August 23, UNIST held a grand opening ceremony of Cellular Responses to Metabolic Stress Research Center (CRMSRC) in a bid to accelerate the discovery and development of breakthrough medicines for diseases thought to be incurable.

Following the ceremony, the research center also held an international symposium on metabolic stress research. Innovative topics in metabolic stress research will be presented and discussed by renowned invited speakers from all over the world, including Professor Erwei Song of Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital in China, Professor Joo-Yeon Yoo from POSTECH, Professor Byung-Hyun Park from Chonbuk National University, and Professor Jae Beom Kim from Seoul National University. The symposium will also discuss future research plans of CRMSRC.

The Cellular Responses to Metabolic Stress Research Center has been selected as the '2018 Advanced Research Center Program', funded by the Korean Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF). The center has been also selected as a Science Research Center (SRC) in June of this year, securing the funding of KRW 10.5 billion for the next seven years.

"Cancer and diabetes are those that occur in response to metabolic stress," says Professor Hyug Moo Kwon who serve concurrently as director of CRMSRC. "Through the strengthening of basic research, we hope to understand the underlying principle of cellular communication and discuss the path toward to cure diseases thought to be incurable."

CRMSRC conducts research focusing on 'intercellular countermeasures', 'intercellular countermeasures', and 'systems biology'. These include intercellular and intercellular response associations, anticancer drug-free and insulin resistance mechanisms, metabolism, proteomics, endocrine analysis, intracellular pathway network analysis, and intercellular signal network analysis.

Researchres at CRMSRC include Professor Kwon Hyeong-moo of the UNIST Department of Life Sciences, Professor Kang Byung-hun, Professor Park Chan-Young, Professor Choi Jang Hyun, Professor Park Ji Young, Professor Park Tae Eun, Professor Kim Ha Jin.

"With the help of this center, UNIST will lay the groundwork for the delivery of new medical treatments for incurable diseases," says President Mooyoung Jung of UNIST.

Meanwhile, the ceremony consisted of a welcome address, congratulatory remarks, a brief introduction of the center, as well as the special lecture by Dr. Moo Je Cho, former president of UNIST. The event has been attended by over 120 guests, including Director Joong Kon Park in the Division of Engineering at NRF, Director Neung Hwa Park in the Department of Internal Medicine at Ulsan University Hospital, Chair Professor Yong-Tak Lee at GIST, and Chair Professor Chin Ha Chung at Seoul National University.