Seven domestic scientists have been selected for the Human Frontier Science Program, which promotes joint global research in the life sciences (iClick) *This photo is protected under copyright law and unauthorized reproduction and redistribution are strictly prohibited.

By Kim Hyelin

The Ministry of Science and ICT on March 22 said seven domestic researchers have been selected for the famous Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP), which promotes joint global research in the life sciences.

Founded in 1989, the HFSP has produced 31 Nobel Prize winners. Three domestic researchers this year picked for the program will each receive between USD 300,000 and USD 400,000 in annual research funding over three years, with two more selected in accelerators and another two in training support.

The recipients will lead joint international studies in a range of sectors such as neuroscience, ecology and paleontology.

Kim Jinhyun, a postdoctoral researcher at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology, will focus on next-generation technology for neural circuit modulation that selectively inhibits active synapses in collaboration with scholars from the think tank Riken in Japan and Stanford University in the U.S.

Hanyang University professor Seo Tae-won will conduct robotics-based research on the underground ecology of mole rats with Tel Aviv University in Israel.

Lee Gil-Ju, a professor at Pusan National University, will work with the University of Oxford in the U.K. and others to explain the optical principles of trilobite eye structures and develop biomimetic imaging technology.

The two scholars selected for the accelerator category will join research teams. Kim Jae-Kyung, a professor of math science at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, will study mathematical models to analyze tick and virus transmission in a climate change environment.

Professor Yoon Hye-Jin of Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology will research metabolites to elucidate the biochemical pathways of fear signal generation.

Two ethnic Korean scholars were also among the 55 recipients in the fellowship category: Tae Hyunhyuk of Yale University's School of Medicine and Han Dae Hee at the University of California, San Diego.

kimhyelin211@korea.kr