The Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) announced on the 31st that graduate Kang Ji-seung has been appointed as an assistant professor in the Department of Health and Environment at Korea University, effective March 1. Born in 1997, Kang set the record for the youngest appointment in the history of Korea University at the age of 27.
Kang was guided by Professor Kim Tae of GIST in the field of neuroscience. He received his bachelor's degree from the Department of Chemistry at GIST in February 2019 and then entered the master's and doctoral integrated program at the Department of Biomedical Engineering at GIST, obtaining his doctoral degree in August 2023 after four years and six months. He then worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, focusing on medical big data and neuroscience research.
As an expert in medical big data research and neuroscience research, Kang has been conducting translational neuroscience research that combines Alzheimer's disease research with medical big data. Recently, he collaborated with Professor Yeon Dong-geon’s research team at Kyunghee University Medical Center to conduct a targeted trial simulation study analyzing the effects of maternal exposure to opioid analgesics on the development of mental disorders in children, which is challenging to conduct in clinical trials.
Kang stated, "Thanks to the organically linked research-oriented curriculum from my bachelor's to doctoral studies at GIST and my experiences in joint research with prestigious universities and research institutions abroad, I was able to establish my research foundation. I will flexibly respond to the changing academic environment and contribute to the advancement of global medicine and health policies."
He added, "Science holds even greater value when it is applied beyond the laboratory to actual healthcare environments and health policies," and affirmed, "I will continue to conduct creative and challenging research while also striving to foster future scientific talent and create a research environment where academia and the medical community can collaborate."