Professor Sun Choi of the College of Pharmacy Appointed as New Director of MokAm Life Science Research Institute N
- Date2026.05.20
- 429
Professor Sun Choi of the College of Pharmacy has been appointed as a new director of the MokAm Life Science Research Institute (hereafter MokAm Institute).
Established in 1984 through funding from Green Cross (now GC Biopharma), MokAm Institute is the first private non-profit research foundation approved by the former Ministry of Science and Technology (now the Ministry of Science and ICT). The institute was launched using funds generated from the hepatitis B vaccine developed by Green Cross, the third such vaccine in the world. Over the past four decades, MokAm Institute has contributed to the advancement of Korea’s biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries by accumulating expertise, methodologies, and data-driven research capabilities essential for drug development.
Marking its 40th anniversary, MokAm Institute has recently begun a full-scale transition toward an artificial intelligence (AI)-based drug discovery and development system built upon its existing research capabilities. Since 2022, the institute has focused on computer-based research utilizing data and models to improve the precision and speed of decision-making in drug development. In addition, it is promoting research that leads next-generation drug discovery paradigms through the convergence of AI and life sciences while establishing domestic and international collaborative ecosystems through open innovation linking academia, hospitals, and industry.
Professor Choi, who has now been appointed as a director of MokAm Institute, possesses extensive research experience spanning both academia and industry in the fields of medicinal chemistry and AI-based drug discovery, along with strong capabilities in global collaborative research. Based on research achievements in interdisciplinary areas such as structure-based drug design, computational chemistry, and AI-driven molecular design, Professor Choi is expected to contribute to advancing MokAm Institute’s AI-based drug discovery strategies.
The Global AI Drug Discovery Research Center at Ewha Womans University, led by Professor Choi, was established in 2020 as an interdisciplinary research hub aimed at innovating the entire drug discovery and development process through AI technologies. The center actively conducts AI-based drug discovery research, including large-scale analysis of biological, chemical, and pharmaceutical data; protein structure analysis and prediction; and the discovery and optimization of lead compounds to derive novel drug candidates.
In particular, the center integrates the full spectrum of drug discovery research—from basic studies uncovering mechanisms at the quantum, atomic, and molecular levels to industrial applications involving the discovery of drug candidates.
It is also concentrating on developing core original technologies through a research platform (AIDrug.re.kr) that combines AI technologies with three-dimensional structure-based drug design targeting proteins.
Furthermore, the center is expanding international collaborative research and fostering next-generation researchers through partnerships with domestic and overseas institutions. It is currently collaborating with pharmaceutical companies such as Yuhan Corporation, GC Biopharma, and Amgen Korea, as well as AI drug discovery venture companies and the global academic information analytics company Elsevier. In addition, the center has signed research cooperation agreements and MOUs with leading global institutions and universities, including Peking University in China, National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan, and Hokkaido University in Japan.
Most recently, the center signed an MOU with the Institute for Protein Research (IPR) at Osaka University—one of the world’s leading research institutes in structural biology and protein science—to promote joint research and academic exchange in AI-based drug discovery. Building on the research cooperation MOU signed with MokAm Institute in 2024 for AI-based drug discovery, the two institutions also plan to continue expanding collaboration, including joint research and personnel exchanges.
The current board of directors of MokAm Institute includes Chairperson Ilsup Huh (Chairman of GC), GC Biopharma CEO Eunchul Huh, and Hyunjin Shin, Director of MokAm Life Science Research Institute, along with other prominent figures representing industry and academia.
This appointment is expected to further strengthen Ewha Womans University’s capabilities in AI-based drug discovery in alignment with the institute’s board composition and long-term research strategies, while also serving as momentum for continued innovation through the convergence of basic science and advanced technologies.