EWHA WOMANS UNIVERSITY | Research

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Research Team Led by Professor Kim Minsuk Publishes Paper in Globally Recognized Biosensor Journal

A research team led by Professor Kim Minsuk at the Ewha School of Medicine discovered methods to detect cancer cells through AI-based technology utilizing micro-vibrations. This research finding has been published in the globally recognized journal Biosensors and Bioelectronics (ranked first in JCR Chemistry and Analytical in 2019). The published paper credits Professor Kim as the corresponding author and Kim Hye-yun, a student of the combined master-doctoral program at the Ewha School of Medicine, as the lead author. The research team analyzed a video documenting the flow of breast cancer cells in blood using an AI-based software called a "motion microscope," which was developed by Dr. Abe Davis at MIT. As a result, the team found that a long, wave-shaped tail appeared to trail behind cancer cells. The tail, which was named the "cellular trail," could be observed only in cancer cells at the frequency range between 0.5 to 1.5 Hz, and could not be found in normal blood cells. In addition, the team found that the cellular trail disappeared when the proteins comprising the cancer cell membrane were partially removed, and based on this observation, it was discovered that the cellular trail is caused by micro-vibrations from friction that arises when the uneven surface of the cancer cell moves within a fluid. By using the artificial intelligence based on TensorFlow, a machine learning engine developed by Google, the presence of cancer can be determined based on the cellular trail without requiring visual confirmation. This technology allows the diagnosis of cancer at a lower cost without the need to utilize antibodies, fluorescent materials and radioactive substances, and enhances the accuracy of diagnoses when identifying cancer tissues based on MRI or X-ray. It also helps to determine if cancer stem cells remain circulating in the blood after a cancer removal surgery, and is expected to improve public health by making it possible to determine cancer cells in the blood during the process of blood donation by the general public.
- No.63
- Writer
- Date2020.07.10
- Views2536
62
Inflammation-Cancer Microenvironment Research Center Selected for 2020 Leading Research Center Support Program

The Inflammation-Cancer Microenvironment Research Center at the College of Medicine has been selected as a Medical Research Center (MRC) of the 2020 Leading Research Center Support Program, which is administered by the National Research Foundation of Korea and the Ministry of Science and ICT. The center will receive a total of 9.33 billion won over the next seven years (July 2020 to February 2027) for its research to identify molecular mechanisms and networks as a way to improve the inflammation-cancer microenvironment and its development and technology transfer of anti-cancer metastasis and anti-inflammatory treatments. In addition, the center will foster MD-PhD and basic medical scientists who excel in basic, translational and clinical research, thereby strengthening its status as a training center for professionals in basic medical science. The director of the center, Professor Lee Jihee, remarked, "We aim to lay the foundation for future-oriented multidisciplinary and convergent research in basic and clinical medicine, and build a world-class research center for the inflammation-cancer microenvironment through creative research and training of female medical scientists who will be recognized worldwide." Professor Lee, who is also the principal researcher, has pioneered the research into the development of innovative technology to treat tissue injury over the past nine years while leading the Tissue Injury Defense Research Center, which was selected as an MRC of the 2010 Leading Research Center Support Program. This year marks the second time that an institution under her leadership has been selected for the program, demonstrating her outstanding research capacity. Ewha Womans University has received grants through the Leading Research Center Support Program to conduct basic science research since 1998. With the selection of the Inflammation-Cancer Microenvironment Research Center this year, a total of four Ewha research centers are carrying out large-scale research projects, including the Center for Hybrid Interfacial Chemical Structure, the Fibrosis Control Center, and the Research Center for Cellular Homeostasis.
- No.61
- Writer
- Date2020.07.07
- Views1923
60
Three Research Institutes at Ewha Selected for Research Center Support Projects

Research institutes at Ewha Womans University have been selected for the science and engineering research support project operated by the Ministry of Education, the National Research Foundation of Korea, and Korea Basic Science Institute; and for the university ICT research center support project operated by the Ministry of Science and ICT. In addition to the selections by major institutions, Ewha consolidated its status as a research-oriented university by achieving outstanding results in establishing the research institutes that will lead the development of core technologies and the fostering of talented individuals in the field of science and technology. Ewha Brain Institute (Director: Professor In Kyoon Lyoo, Department of Pharmacy) was chosen in 2020 Universities Program for Key Research Institutes in the Science and Engineering Field by the Ministry of Education and the National Research Foundation of Korea. Under this program, the institute will receive a total of 7.5 billion won in research funding for the next nine years (June 2020 to May 2029). It plans to utilize its own advanced research infrastructure and actively conduct research projects in collaboration with leading overseas brain research institutes such as Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) Research Consortium, which is the world's largest consortium of brain development research projects under the U.S. National Institute of Health, the University of Utah’s Brain Institute, the Center for Human Development and Disability at Washington University, and Joslin Diabetes Center at Harvard University. Professor Lyoo, the director of Ewha Brain Institute, said “With this program, we expect to establish ourselves as a brain research institute with world-class research capacity in the field of human neuroscience, and to build an education-research environment that will cultivate excellent young researchers in the field of brain research.” The Center for Nano-Bio Energy Materials (Director: Professor Kim Dong Ha, Department of Chemistry and Nano Science) was selected as a 2020 Core Research Facility. As part of an effort to strengthen research capabilities of basic science, the Ministry of Education has conducted a project to establish core research facilities, which are shared resource centers for related departments, to promote the utilization of research equipment scattered within a university, and selected 13 research centers this year. Under this project, the Nano-Bio Energy Materials Center will receive a total of 300-600 million won annually for up to six years (3+3 years). Nine faculty members from the major of Chemistry and Nanoscience, and Physics at the College of Natural Sciences and four master’s and doctorate level dedicated members will participate in laying the groundwork for the center and conduct research on next-generation functional molecular materials, hybrid materials for energy conversion, and designing hybrid materials and properties evaluation. Professor Kim said, “With the selection as a core research facility, we will be able to significantly improve the management and deployment of research equipment at the College of Natural Sciences and the overall research environment of Ewha Womans University. This will also lay the foundation for establishing the institute as a world-class research hub in the field of nano-convergence materials research that encompasses bio-health and energy. Simulation-Based Convergent Content Research Center (Director: Professor Kim Young Jun, Department of Computer Science) was selected for the University ICT Research Center Support Program organized by the Ministry of Science and ICT. A total of 12 research centers in universities nationwide were selected this year for the ICT Research Center Support Program, which is part of a project to foster master's and doctoral level research personnel by conducting ICT core technology research projects. Ewha’s Simulation-Based Convergent Content Research Center will be funded for the development of core technologies to create virtual reality contents and the fostering of research personnel, with an annual research fund of 800 million won for up to eight years, and will support annually more than 40 postgraduate and doctoral students for their research. The center plans to conduct research on simulation-based technologies to develop a simulation as vividly as reality. Based on this, it will study how to create convergent content such as robot content, single-person media content, distance education content, content visualization, and AI-based intelligent content. Also, it will foster convergent and creative ICT content experts who will lead the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In addition, the center plans to hold a simulation-based autonomous drone racing competition jointly with Microsoft to conduct research on the AI content related to drones with capacity beyond human pilots' records, and provide students with the convergent content research environment.
- No.59
- Writer
- Date2020.06.19
- Views2922
58
Ewha Selected for Major Research Projects Confirming Its Outstanding Science Capacity

The government announced a comprehensive implementation plan for "2020 R&D Projects in Science and Technology and ICT," worth about 5.12 trillion won, and Ewha Womans University was selected for major research projects, proving its excellent scientific capacity. Professor In Kyoon Lyoo | Professor Goo Taeg Oh The research team led by Professor Lyoo In Kyoon selected for 2020 Research Project for Overcoming Brain Diseases The research team led by Professor In Kyoon Lyoo (Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences/ Brain and Cognitive Sciences/ Director of Brain Institute) was selected as a new research team for the 2020 Research Project for Overcoming Brain Diseases funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT. As the team has been chosen to conduct the "development of diagnosis and treatment technologies for emotional disorders" research project, it will receive a grant of 4.5 billion won for four and a half years to build a biotype-based suicide prediction platform, which is expected to dramatically increase predictive rates of suicidal behaviors through the integrated analysis of brain imaging, genetics, blood, neurophysiology, brain and cognitive sciences and clinical big data. Since the Ewha Brain Institute opened, the research team has conducted successfully large-scale national projects including the original neuroscience technology development project of the Ministry of Science and ICT and research support projects of the National Fire Agency and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and research support projects of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. The team secures unrivaled research capacity on building predictive models of disease and behavior through integrated analysis of the big data based on advanced brain-bio information. Professor Lyoo said, "I expect that our team will propose a scientific solution to suicide, which is a clinical challenge and one of the major social issues, by sorting out high-risk suicidal groups and providing appropriate therapeutic intervention through analysis of large-scale bio big data on brain-nervous system. Research team led by Professor Goo Taeg Oh selected for 2020 Leading Researchers Support Program (Creative Research Initiative) by National Research Foundation of Korea On May 28, the National Research Foundation of Korea announced that the heart-immunity-brain network research team led by Professor Oh at the Department of Life Science was selected for a new project of 2020 Leading Researchers Support Program (Creative Research Initiative). In 2012, the vascular and immune cell network research team led by Professor Oh had been selected as a recipient of the same project and carried out for the past nine years "research on determining molecular mechanisms of immune cell that can cure arteriosclerosis," and this year, as his team has been newly selected as a grant recipient, it will receive a total of 7 billion won over the next nine years. The vascular and immune cell network research aims to determine causes of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases due to vascular hypofunction accompanying the aging process of all living things. The research team is expected to determine the functions of immune system cells and molecular mechanisms that mediate heart-brain bidirectional interaction, suggesting a new paradigm in studies on pathogenesis of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and development of treatment for them. Professor Oh said, "We were able to earn this grant since Ewha has made efforts to successfully establish research infrastructure such as the animal laboratory, and constant investment and attention are needed to further develop research capacity in Life Science that Ewha has accumulated."
- No.57
- Writer
- Date2020.06.10
- Views2336
56
Ewha K-MOOC Lectures Evaluated as Excellent and the University Selected as Leading University for 2nd Phase of K-MOOC

Five lectures of Ewha Womans University have been selected as excellent courses in the 2019 annual evaluation of the Korean Massive Open Online Course (K-MOOC). The K-MOOC conducted a quantitative assessment on 71 courses developed in 2015 and 2016 and chose a total of 11 excellent courses among them. Five out of the 11 courses, which amount to 45 percent of selected courses, were from Ewha, proving the prominence of Ewha-K-MOOC contents. The K-MOOC is a service providing excellent online courses in higher and vocational education for free, and Ewha has provided 18 lectures of high quality for the spring semester of 2020, taking the initiative in offering outstanding educational contents and sharing global knowledge. So Hyo-Jeong, Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, said, "We are very pleased with this result, as it demonstrates that Ewha’s pursuit of innovation in college education and spreading of shared social values has come to fruition. We will promote the excellence of Ewha education through constant development of quality K-MOOC lectures." In addition, Ewha was selected as one of leading universities for the second phase of K-MOOC, which was announced by the Education Ministry on June 5. Accordingly, Ewha will develop outstanding lectures in artificial intelligence, big data, natural science and women's studies and play a leading role in credit transferring and exchanges among colleges, as well as expanding the global market. Ewha has continued to invest in the field of edu-tech utilizing ICT, such as MOOC and Flipped Learning, in an effort to lead the innovation in university education in line with the advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. By creating high-tech classrooms and developing its cyber campus to serve as an effective online educational platform, Ewha has prepared itself for future society and changes in education.
- No.55
- Writer
- Date2020.06.08
- Views1884
54
EUICF Agreed on Technology Transfer with ICURE BNP

Ewha University-Industry Collaboration Foundation (EUICF) held an agreement ceremony with ICURE BNP on March 30, concluding a contract to transfer the technology of the “nasal drug delivery platform by using cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs).” This technology was developed by Professor Kyung Lim Lee (College of Pharmacy), introducing a platform that enhances nasal mucous membrane permeability of high molecular drugs by using CPPs. And under this agreement, EUICF and ICURE BNP will set out in earnest to develop biobetters for intranasal administration of injections such as peptides and bio drugs. Professor Lee’s research team has proved that the new technology facilitates drug permeation more efficiently through the nasal cavity when the technology applied to GLP-1 agonist drugs, which are currently used as antidiabetics. They have also verified the possibility of overcoming existing limitations of injections by demonstrating its sufficient hypoglycemic effect through animal testing on intranasal administration. Patents for this technology have already been granted in the U.S., Japan, and Europe, let alone in Korea, and that is expected to secure market share expansion and increase in sales. “I am delighted to provide clues to develop the platform technology for new bio drugs by discovering human-derived cell-penetrating peptides,” Professor Lee said. “We will make every effort to improve the quality of patients’ lives and make inroads into global markets through joint research with ICURE BNP, which has a wealth of expertise in developing drug delivery technology.” This agreement has a significant meaning as it was the fruit of “IP–Marketplace in Ewha” event last December, which was held by EUICF to introduce outstanding patents of Ewha and provide a venue for research teams to meet industrial partners, where the research team and ICURE BNP first met. EUICF will make continuous efforts to create a virtuous cycle of making profits and reinvesting in R&D through technology transfer of the university-held patents, which are promising for commercialization, business establishment, university-industry joint research, and employment.
- No.53
- Writer
- Date2020.03.31
- Views3006
52
Professor Cho Suyeon Published Thesis in a Prestigious Journal in the Material Science Field

A joint research team led by Professor Cho Suyeon of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science successfully synthesized a new two-dimensional material using electrons which is relatively easy to control. The research dealt with spin control of a two-dimensional material which is considered a semiconductor material of the next generation. The material is called Vanadium Ditelluride, and its crystal structure is entirely different from existing two-dimensional materials. It shows spin–charge–lattice coupling instead of charge-lattice interaction, and plays an important role in the expression of polymorphism which is known as the unique property of two-dimensional materials. These physical phenomena respond sensitively to changes in the structure of electrons near Fermi energy, demonstrating the possibility of spin control not only with charge, but also with pressure and tension. The research findings show that it is possible to control the magnetism, crystal structure, and electronic structure of materials with simple external stimuli instead of magnetic fields, leaving open the possibility of next-generation electronic elements that use spin. The research was funded by the National Research Foundation’s research support program utilizing major research infrastructure abroad and conducted in cooperation with Sungkyunkwan University and Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. “Polymorphic Spin, Charge, and Lattice Waves in Vanadium Ditelluride” that contains the research findings was published on the website of world’s renowned journal of Advanced Materials (IF 25.809) on February 6. Ewha Womans University, with its first women’s engineering college in the world established in 1996 with the vocation of the time of “development of science and technology through nurturing of excellent female engineers,” opened Chemical Engineering and Materials Science in 2015 with an aim to cultivate highest-level female professionals who lead the field of chemistry and materials science. Professor Cho joined Ewha’s Chemical Engineering and Materials Science in the Division of Advanced Technology as the first alumna professor in 2017 and is committed to research and education.
- No.51
- Writer
- Date2020.02.20
- Views4479
50
Health Convergence Professor Publishes Article in JAMA

Ahn Song Vogue, a professor of Health Convergence published an article in the world-renowned medical journal JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association). In a joint research with researchers from Gachon University College of Medicine and Harvard Medical School, Professor Ahn analyzed the incidence of thyroid cancer, the number and types of thyroid cancer surgeries and the incidence of postoperative hypoparathyroidism in Korea between 2007 and 2016, based on the big data from the National Health Insurance Sharing Service (NHISS) which is operated by the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) of Korea. Thyroid cancer had been increasing at a faster rate than any other cancer since 2000 in both Korea and worldwide. Compared with the incidence of thyroid cancer by country in 2012, South Korea showed four times higher incidence of thyroid cancer in men and five times in women than the United States, which is known to be related to high rate of medical screenings. Since 2013, with much heightened awareness of situations like this, new guidelines have been enacted and implemented to encourage more selective thyroid ultrasonography at the time of examining for thyroid cancer, and to revise the criteria for a thyroid fine needle aspiration cytology with suspicious nodules larger than 1 cm in diameter. The research found that the incidence and the rate of surgeries of thyroid cancer began to decline after peaking in 2013, and that the incidence of postoperative hypoparathyroidism reduced at the same time. Professor Ahn, the first author of the article, said, "This research is meaningful in that it may influence the national health policy by grasping the status and prospect of the national health level and the medical conduct based on the NHISS big data in line with the Fourth Industrial Revolution trend.
- No.49
- Writer
- Date2020.02.10
- Views2563
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Professor Kim Wankyu Succeeded in Attracting Five-Billion-Won-Investment in His Big Data-AI-Based Drug Discovery Venture

Professor Kim Wankyu of Life Science attracted Series A investment worth 5 billion won for KaiPharm, an AI-Data driven drug discovery venture. Professor Kim raised series A investment funding just in 14 months after he set up the venture firm, and plans to build a globally unique reference database for drug-induced gene expression profiles. Kaipharm, which was founded by a research team led by Professor Kim Wankyu in 2018, develops the next generation platform for new medicines through unique bioinformatics analysis, big data mining and virtual search technology. Kim said that, with this technology, we can treat cells with drugs to analyze the expression patterns of approximately 20,000 human genes, and thereby produce a wealth of information on the mechanism of action of the drugs. In addition, the technology can be utilized to find a new indication by investigating whether a change in transcriptome patterns of a developing drug is similar to the action of an existing drug, or by comparing that with the pattern in the state of a particular disease. With this investment, KaiPharm and Institut Pasteur Korea decided to jointly generate an NGS-driven drug-induced transcriptome database (KMAP project). Based on this project, KaiPharm plans to develop new drugs in collaboration with research institutes, universities and pharmaceutical companies at home and abroad and provide analysis services. Previously, KaiPharm was selected as a recipient of Tech Incubator Program for startup Korea (TIPS) by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and received seed investment. With the Series A investment funding that the firm raised from KB Investment and other six entities, now KaiPharm secures a total of 7 billion won. KaiPharm was established through a startup support program for faculty which includes “Ewha labs venture certification” and provision of a startup space within the laboratory. The firm has actively engaged in student employment and startup for students and recruited three undergraduates as interns during this winter session alone, contributing to nurturing talents. Kim said, “It has been ten years since I joined Ewha. During the first five years, I conducted research on genomics, bioinformatics and systems biology, which are my major field of study. Over the last five or six years, I focused on combining my previous research with development of new drugs, which led to the establishment of a venture firm.” "I want to contribute to bringing innovation to drug development through the convergence of data science and biomedical science," he added. Over the last couple of years, the Department of Life Science saw excellent members of the faculty launching a startup company, including Kang Sang Won (Vastera, inflammatory regulation), Bae Yun Soo (Celros Biotech, vascular disease treatment), and Shim Hyunbo (Curocell, Anticancer immunotherapy).
- No.47
- Writer
- Date2020.02.10
- Views2023
46
Students from the College of Pharmacy Published Theses in Renowned International Journals in Succession

Students from the College of Pharmacy of Ewha Womans University continue to publish theses in prestigious international journals. Undergraduates are producing prominent research results through the curriculum of practice with professors and graduate students, breaking the stereotype that “only graduates can write outstanding papers” and promoting the research capacity and academic excellence of “Ewha pharmacy” at home and abroad. Park Soo-min, who is in the sixth year of the College of Pharmacy, and Lee Na-ri on a master's degree program (academic adviser: Gwak Hye-sun) published “Association between glutathione-S-transferase gene polymorphisms and responses to TKI treatment in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia: a meta-analysis” as co-first authors and their paper was posted on the website of Targeted Oncology. In this study, the team of the College of Pharmacy proved the correlation between genetic polymorphisms (mutation) of glutathione-S-transferase enzymes, which are amino acids produced by our body itself, and therapeutic responses of Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor (TKI), an anticancer drug. The findings of this study are significant as the analysis of the relationship between gene mutations of an individual patient as a genetic disorder and the treatment responses of an anticancer drug has emerged as an important task for cancer research. Another paper titled “PGC-1α, a potential therapeutic target against kidney aging” was also published in the October issue of Aging Cell, one of the top international journals in the related field. The paper was written by Kim Yoo-jeong, Ko Min-ji, and Yu In-young (academic adviser: Ha Hun-joo), all of whom attained a bachelor's degree in Pharmacy in February 2019, and the authors conducted the study as part of an in-depth research practice. While various research is being conducted on “healthy aging” strategies as the aging of population becomes a global trend, the research team of Ewha drew attention with their research showing that activating PGC-1α, a key regulator of energy metabolism, could be an effective strategy to inhibit the aging of kidney. Ewha’s College of Pharmacy, established in 1945 as the first four-year pharmaceutical college in Korea, will continue to take the lead in nurturing integrated professionals in pharmacy with global capabilities.
- No.45
- Writer
- Date2020.02.10
- Views2351

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