Ph.D. students in the Biochemical Engineering Laboratory Winning Ph D. Fellowship for Three Consecutive Years
- Date2022.05.25
- 6567
Four Ph.D. students in the Biochemical Engineering Laboratory of Ewha Womans University Chemical Engineering and Materials have won a Ph.D. research fellowship from the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) for three consecutive years since 2020. This Ph.D. research fellowship, organized by the Ministry of Education (MOE) and selected by NRF, is part of the “Fostering the Next Generation of Researchers Projects in Science and Engineering,” the basic science and technology project supporting students to study creative and challenging ideas related to Ph.D. thesis topics. Students selected for the project will receive 20 million won per year for up to two years to conduct research related to their Ph.D. thesis topics.
(Starting from the upper left, clockwise) Seo Young Cho, Hye Min Song, Yoo Jung Son, Jin Ah Son
Seo Young Cho (selected in 2020) has been successfully conducting research for two years on development of recombinant strain system for high value-added products using C1 carbon sources, and has recently been developing a microbial platform that can be applied to the production process of major high value-added substances including biodegradable polymers, which are receiving attention as alternative options to the plastic waste problem. Yoo Jung Son (selected in 2021) has been conducting research on the development of a high-performance C4-C6 diol producing Corynebacterium strain platform by establishing various metabolic engineering strategies. She expects the biological production of C4-C6 diols that can be used as precursors for biopolyester synthesis in the future could greatly contribute to the development of eco-friendly chemical production technology and new functional polymers. Hye Min Song (selected in 2021) aims to overcome the economical limitations of existing technologies and develop sustainable plastics technology by producing various compounds from lignin, a major component of wood biomass that has been limitedly used, through microorganisms improved by metabolic engineering technology. Jin Ah Son (selected in 2022) is conducting research to produce biodegradable bioplastics with excellent physical resistivity through recombinant microorganisms improved by metabolic engineering technology. She showed her strong ambitions, saying, “We are proud of our ability to contribute to the establishment and growth of the white biotechnology system, which can be the solution to the plastic waste problem and carbon reduction issue, and we will continue to work hard to achieve our research goals during the fellowship years.”
Under Professor Si Jae Park's guidance, the Biochemical Engineering Laboratory, in which excellent new researchers are working, is actively conducting research on bio-refinery-based metabolic engineering improvement strategies of microorganisms and the development of microbial fermentation processes for mass production of target substances. Bio-refinery is the collective term for the underlying technology used to produce various products from biomass-based raw materials through sustainable biological processes against the existing petrochemical industry.
The Biochemical Engineering Laboratory is actively working on bioplastics-related projects such as “Development of C4-C6 Diol Producing Corynebacterium Strain System for the Synthesis of Next-Generation Biopolyesters" supported by the Bio & Medical Technology Development Program of the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) and “Development of Biological Biodegradable Copolymer Production Technology Using Methane and Methanol" of the C1 Gas Refinery Project. Furthermore, the laboratory was also selected for the projects such as “Development of Production Process Technology of KL-sized Platform of Biomass-based Biodegradable Microbial Plastic Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA)” of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy in 2022 (funding 260 million won per year, for 4 years), “Development of a Recombinant Strain System for the Production of Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) Containing ω-Hydroxyalkanoate Monomer” of the Environment-friendly Chemical Technology Alternative to Petroleum Development Project under the 2022 Project for Climate Environment Research Development of MSIT (funding 200 million won per year, for 4 years and 9 months), and “Development of Artificial Microorganism Platform Source Technology for the Production of Next-generation Biodegradable Bioplastics Based on One-Step-One-Pot" of the Biomass-based Carbon Neutral Bioplastic Product Technology Development Project (funding 13.3 billion won per year, for 3 years and 6 months). The laboratory is also conducting joint research with various companies, including LG Chem, CJ, Daesang, and Hyundai Bioland.