Gene Editing Researcher Receives ASAN Award In Basic Medicine

IBS Center for Genome Engineering Director Kim Jin-Soo was recognized for his work on making CRISPR-Cas9 technology more precise and stable.

AsianScientist (Apr. 12, 2017) – Professors Kim Jin-Soo and Han Duck-Jong have been honored with the 10th ASAN Award in Basic Medicine and Clinical Medicine, respectively. The ASAN Award for Young Medical Scientists went to Professor Choi Jung-Kyoon at the Department of Bio and Brain Engineering at KAIST and Professor Ahn Jung-Min at the Department of Cardiology at the University of Ulsan College of Medicine.

The basic and clinical medicine winners each received 300 million won (~US$262,000) while the Young Medical Scientists received 50 million won (~US$44,000) at an awards ceremony held on March 20, 2017.

The ASAN Award in Medicine was established in 2007 by the ASAN Foundation to discover and encourage medical scientists who have achieved remarkable accomplishments in the fields of basic and clinical medicine.

Kim, who is the Director of the Institute for Basic Science Center for Genome Engineering, was recognized for his work on making the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system more precise and stable.

“Using genome editing techniques, I’d like to focus on research which is helpful for patients with genetic and degenerative diseases as well as cancer that are considered intractable. I’ll strive harder to develop and commercialize treatments that can directly help such patients,” he said.

“This honor is largely attributed to the dedicated researchers who have worked with me. I see this award as encouragement for me to contribute to society and humanity by devoting myself more to research.”

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Source: Institute for Basic Science; Photo: ASAN Foundation.
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