Undergraduate Student in Bio-Pharmaceutical Major at Kookmin University Publishes Paper in SCI-Level International Journal

[(From left) Chaeyeon Lee and Jihyun Kim, senior students in the Department of Applied Chemistry, Bio-pharmaceutical Major at Kookmin University; Minseong Choi, graduate student in the Department of Bio-pharmaceutical Sciences (co-first author); Professor Hyunjung Kim (co-corresponding author); Professor Heogyun (provided by Kookmin University)]

Kookmin University (President Seung-ryeol Jeong) announced on the 7th that a paper co-first authored by Chaeyeon Lee, a senior majoring in Bio-pharmaceuticals in the Department of Applied Chemistry at the College of Science and Technology (advised by Professor Kyun Hur), was published in the SCI-level international journal ‘Medicina’.

In the study led by Chaeyeon Lee, it was demonstrated through various molecular cell biology methods that gramicidin, a drug previously used as an antibiotic, induces apoptosis in ovarian cancer cells, effectively inhibiting cell growth.

Professor Kyun Hur, the corresponding author and a faculty member of the Department of Applied Chemistry majoring in Bio-pharmaceuticals at Kookmin University, stated, “This research explores the potential for repurposing gramicidin as a new indication for ovarian cancer treatment. Undergraduate students Chaeyeon Lee and Jihyun Kim actively participated in this meaningful research through the research participation program (UROP) supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea’s LINC 3.0 project and other initiatives.”

Chaeyeon Lee and Jihyun Kim, both seniors majoring in Bio-pharmaceuticals in the Department of Applied Chemistry at Kookmin University and co-first authors and co-authors, said, “Over approximately two years in the undergraduate research participation program, we were able to achieve excellent research results thanks to Professor Kyun Hur’s guidance and Kookmin University’s outstanding support infrastructure. During the research process, we gained invaluable experiences rarely available to undergraduates, such as writing an SCI-level paper and participating in the JCA-AACR international conference held in Kyoto, Japan, which helped us improve our research capabilities.”

This research was conducted with support from the Mid-career Researcher Support Program of the National Research Foundation under the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Infectious Disease Treatment Technology Development Project of the Ministry of Health and Welfare.