Sookmyung Women's University Selected for Ministry of Education's 'Infrastructure Advancement Project'

5-Year Project Funding of 6.7 Billion KRW
Conducting Research on Musculoskeletal Disorders
Advanced Systems and Discovery of Therapeutic Targets

Sookmyung Women's University announced on the 29th that it has been finally selected for the 'Infrastructure Advancement Project' supported by the Ministry of Education, the National Research Foundation of Korea, and the National Research Facilities & Equipment Center.

The Women's Health Research Institute at Sookmyung Women's University will receive 6.7 billion KRW in project funding over five years to carry out the task of "Elucidation of the Mechanisms of Musculoskeletal Diseases and Development of Therapeutics Based on Spatiotemporal Multi-omics." Professor Yang Young from the Department of Life Systems serves as the principal investigator, with Professors Bae Gyu-woon from the College of Pharmacy and Choi Kyung-min from the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering participating.

[Image source=Sookmyung Women's University]

Principal investigator Professor Yang Young plans to establish a "Spatiotemporal Multi-omics System for Bone Diseases" within the Women's Health Research Institute.

This system will be composed using advanced research equipment such as a single-cell spatial analysis system and a high-resolution mass spectrometer. Through this, the Women's Health Research Institute intends to produce spatiotemporal multi-omics data and build an integrated library to discover therapeutic targets.

Furthermore, based on the integrated spatiotemporal multi-omics system, the Women's Health Research Institute will conduct research on age-related musculoskeletal diseases. Since age-related musculoskeletal diseases are progressive and treatment strategies must vary according to the patient's disease progression, there are currently no personalized therapeutics and the pathogenesis remains unclear.

To achieve global-level research, collaborative studies will also be conducted with HSS (Hospital for Special Surgery), the top orthopedic specialty hospital in the United States.

Professor Yang Young expressed her thoughts on the project selection, stating, "We will provide domestic and international life science researchers with data services utilizing advanced equipment and opportunities for collaborative research."