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Patient-Specific "Blood–Brain Tumor Barrier Chip" Predicts How Glioblastoma Patients Will Respond to Treatment
Even for the same brain tumor treated with the same anticancer drug, the effect can differ from patient to patient. A Korean research team has developed a chip that recreates a patient's own tumor cells together with the surrounding peritumoral vascular environment, making it possible to predict patient-specific treatment responses in advance.
KAIST (President Choongsik Bae) announced on August 18 that a research team led by Professor Song Ih Ahn from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, in collaboration with Professor Jungho Ahn's team at Sungkyunkwan University, Professor Jaejoon Lim of CHA Bundang Medical Center, and Professor Youn-Jung Kang's team at CHA University, has developed a patient-specific blood–brain tumor barrier (BBTB) chip capable of predicting treatment responses in glioblastoma patients.
Glioblastoma is one of the most lethal malignant brain tumors, hard to treat because the cancer cells spread rapidly into normal brain tissue and tumor characteristics differ from patient to patient. The brain is also protected by a "blood–brain barrier," which blocks harmful substances in the blood from entering brain tissue. The problem is that it blocks anticancer drugs too, so not enough of the drug reaches the tumor. When glioblastoma develops, this vascular barrier changes as well. How much it changes differs from patient to patient, which is one reason the same drug can work differently in different people.
Predictions of treatment response have so far relied mainly on tumor genetic information and biomarkers, which cannot capture the patient-specific vascular environment around the tumor or the resulting drug response.
To address this, the team built a chip that includes not only the patient's tumor cells but also the vascular barrier. This barrier is the "route" an anticancer drug must travel to reach the tumor. Patient-derived glioblastoma cells were co-cultured with brain vascular endothelial cells and astrocytes inside a small microfluidic chip. Together they recreate the boundary where tumor tissue meets normal brain tissue. The design also accommodates perivascular and immune cells, allowing the tumor's vascular environment to be reproduced more precisely.
Using tumor cells from three glioblastoma patients, the team built patient-mimicking BBTB chips and applied temozolomide (TMZ) and bevacizumab (BEV), the standard agents in glioblastoma treatment, to compare responses.
The three patients showed the same result on conventional genetic testing, the MGMT promoter methylation biomarker, and were therefore expected to respond similarly. On the chip, however, both the vascular barrier characteristics and the drug responses differed from one patient to another. The chip results showed a high level of agreement with the patients' actual clinical courses, indicating that outcomes can vary with the state of the vascular barrier even when genetic information is similar.
The core advance is that the platform evaluates not only whether cancer cells respond to a drug, but how a treatment acts within a given patient's tumor environment. If predictive performance and reproducibility are validated in a larger cohort, several agents could be tested on a chip made from a patient's own tumor cells to select the most promising strategy in advance. The same environment could also serve to screen new drug candidates.
Professor Song Ih Ahn said, "This study is meaningful in that it presents a platform that recreates patient-derived tumor cells together with the blood–brain tumor barrier, allowing patient-to-patient differences in treatment response to be evaluated in a way that closely reflects reality," adding, "We hope to validate it in a larger patient population and develop it into a preclinical evaluation platform for establishing personalized treatment strategies and for new drug development."
Minsu Ryoo, a doctoral student in KAIST's Department of Mechanical Engineering, and Gaeun Lee, a doctoral student at Sungkyunkwan University, participated as co-first authors. The results were published on June 27, 2026, in Small, an international journal in materials and nanoscience, and were selected as the journal's Front Cover.
Paper title: Human Blood-Brain Tumor Barrier on a Chip to Investigate Personalized Treatment for Glioblastoma Patients
DOI: 10.1002/smll.202506712
This research was supported by the Korea–US Collaborative Research Fund of the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (RS-2024-00468873), and by the Early-Career Researcher Program of the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Research Foundation of Korea (RS-2026-25487930).
2026.08.18 View 3253 -
KAIST and Samsung Heavy Industries Launch Advanced Maritime Research Center, Marking 32 Years of Industry–Academia Collaboration
KAIST (President Choongsik Bae) announced that it held an opening ceremony for the SHI–KAIST Advanced Maritime Research Center (AMRC) with Samsung Heavy Industries (Vice Chairman and CEO Sung-an Choi) on August 13 at the John Hannah Hall in KAIST Academic Cultural Complex on its main campus in Daejeon.
The new center marks a major milestone in the 32-year industry–academia partnership between the two institutions, which dates back to 1995. Building on more than three decades of joint research and mutual trust, KAIST and Samsung Heavy Industries are expanding their partnership through a joint research hub dedicated to developing key technologies for the future of the shipbuilding and offshore industries.
Through the center, the two institutions will jointly develop technologies that address industry needs in areas including AI, robotics, and green technologies. They will also work to bring research outcomes into industrial applications and develop highly skilled professionals.
“Physical AI that drives innovation in real-world industrial settings will be a determining factor in manufacturing competitiveness,” said KAIST President Choongsik Bae. “The shipbuilding and offshore industry is a prime field for creating new value through the convergence of mechanical engineering, AI, and robotics. I hope the center will grow into a research hub that addresses challenges facing industry and sets new benchmarks for future technologies.”
“It is especially meaningful to see our 32 years of collaboration with KAIST culminate in the establishment of the Advanced Maritime Research Center,” said Sung-an Choi, Vice Chairman and CEO of Samsung Heavy Industries. “We will further accelerate our efforts to secure technological competitiveness and foster talent for the future shipbuilding and offshore industry in areas including autonomous navigation, eco-friendly vessels, and smart manufacturing.”
To secure key technologies for the future shipbuilding and offshore industry, the center will conduct joint research in four areas. AI technologies for autonomous operation and intelligent navigation; propulsion systems using zero- and low-carbon fuels; manufacturing innovation for smart shipyards and digital twins; and robotics specialized for shipbuilding and offshore applications.
In autonomous navigation, researchers will develop AI algorithms for advanced autonomous navigation systems, including technologies for situational awareness, optimal route planning, and collision avoidance. The center will also conduct research on zero- and low-carbon fuels in response to international efforts toward carbon neutrality and the green transition of the shipping and shipbuilding industries. This work will focus on key vessel components and fuel-supply technologies for clean fuels such as ammonia and hydrogen.
In the area of smart shipyards, the center will use AI and digital twin technologies to optimize complex shipbuilding processes, including block erection and production management. This research aims to improve productivity and quality while reducing costs and energy consumption. In specialized maritime robotics, researchers will develop technologies to automate demanding on-site tasks such as welding, painting, and inspection. These technologies will help address the decline in the working-age population while improving worker safety and production efficiency.
Beyond technology development, the center will serve as a hub for training specialists who will lead the future maritime industry. The two institutions will use industry–academia cooperation funding and other resources to support student research and scholarship programs. They will also expand personnel exchange programs connecting industrial sites and research laboratories, thereby continuously fostering research talent with the practical, industry-relevant capabilities needed in the field.
The center was established on the foundation of more than three decades of cooperation between the two institutions. Their partnership began in 1995, when Samsung Heavy Industries’ Ship & Offshore Research Institute and KAIST’s Department of Mechanical Engineering established the SHI–KAIST Industry–Academia Cooperation Council. Since then, they have conducted joint research spanning the shipbuilding and offshore engineering fields—including structures, fluid dynamics, cryogenics, green technologies, smart ships, and autonomous navigation—and accumulated a broad base of foundational technologies.
The institutions have continued to strengthen the connection between research and industry through initiatives such as the Advisory Board program, industry-tailored courses, and joint SEED research projects. The number of collaborative projects and technical consulting cases conducted through the Advisory Board program has exceeded 1,000. The two institutions have also maintained active personnel exchanges through short-term researcher training and cooperative education programs.
Approximately 50 people attended the opening ceremony to celebrate the launch of the center, including KAIST President Choongsik Bae, faculty members and professors emeriti from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Samsung Heavy Industries Vice Chairman and CEO Sung-an Choi, and other executives and officials.
2026.08.13 View 3217 -
Twelve Years Later, KAIST’s Undergraduate Research Program Continues to Shape World-Class Talent
KAIST’s undergraduate research programs have helped launch the careers of professors at world-leading universities and experts in global industry in just over a decade. Three students featured as undergraduate researchers in 2014 have since built distinguished careers: two are now professors at leading universities in the United States, while the third works as an open innovation expert at a global pharmaceutical company. Their career paths demonstrate the lasting impact of KAIST’s Undergraduate Research Participation Program (URP) on talent development.
KAIST (President Choongsik Bae) announced on Aug 9 that its Undergraduate Research Participation Program (URP), which enables undergraduate students to formulate their own research questions and experience the entire research process in faculty laboratories, has become a cornerstone of the Institute’s efforts to develop world-class researchers and science and technology professionals.
URP is one of KAIST’s flagship research education programs. It allows undergraduate students to conduct actual research projects in faculty laboratories and directly experience the entire research process, from developing research ideas to conducting experiments, analyzing data, and writing papers. Operated with support from the Ministry of Science and ICT, the program has conducted a total of 679 research projects over the past five years. Through these projects, students have generated a wide range of research outcomes, including publications in international academic journals, patent applications, and awards at international conferences.
“KAIST has steadily expanded research-centered education so that undergraduate students can formulate their own questions and create new knowledge in a world-class research environment,” said President Choongsik Bae. “We will continue to provide strong support through URP and other research programs enabling students to take on challenges without fear of failure and grow into science and technology leaders who drive innovation at universities and in industry around the world.”
A notable example can be found in the laboratory of Professor YongKeun Park in the Department of Physics. In 2014, KAIST highlighted the achievements of undergraduate researchers in Professor Park’s laboratory in an article titled “Professor YongKeun Park Produces Undergraduate Students with International Achievements.” The three students featured at the time have since grown into world-class researchers and professionals, each pursuing a different career in academia or industry.
Sangyeon Cho began working in a laboratory during his first year at KAIST and completed more than 30 credits of research courses by the time he graduated. One of the two first-author papers he published as an undergraduate, his review article on optical imaging techniques for malaria was featured on the cover of Trends in Biotechnology in 2012. He later earned his Ph.D. through the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology program and served as an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School before joining Rice University as an assistant professor in July 2026. He currently studies technologies that use the world’s smallest nanolasers to track individual cancer cells and therapeutic cells over extended periods.
YoungJu Jo began conducting research combining microscopy and artificial intelligence as an undergraduate, building an interdisciplinary foundation early in his career. His research at the time on virtual staining and diagnosis was published in journals including Nature Cell Biology and Science Advances. He later conducted neuroscience research at Stanford University and published a first-author paper that was featured on the cover of Cell in 2022. In July 2026, Jo joined UC Berkeley as an assistant professor, where he is developing next-generation brain-computer interface (BCI) technologies capable of delivering complex information to the brain.
Seoeun Lee carried the research mindset she developed as an undergraduate into a career in industry. After earning her Ph.D. from Columbia University and working at Boston Consulting Group, she joined global pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly. She currently leads External Innovation activities in the company’s neuroscience division, identifying and pursuing collaborations with promising biotechnology companies through mergers and acquisitions, licensing, partnerships, and other arrangements. Her career demonstrates that undergraduate research experience can lead not only to traditional research careers but also to roles in strategy and collaboration within science- and technology-based industries.
Although the three alumni ultimately pursued careers in different settings—universities and industry—their journeys began in much the same way. During their first or second year as undergraduates, they independently sought out opportunities in laboratories and experienced research that began with questions they were personally curious about rather than merely executing assigned experiments. As an undergraduate, Sangyeon Cho conceived an idea for a super-resolution microscope after seeing a streetlight turn on while walking back to his dormitory late at night. Together with Professor Park, he developed this initial curiosity into a scientific question and ultimately into a research paper.
This undergraduate research culture continues at KAIST today. In 2023, research on GOBI, a methodology for estimating causal relationships in time-series data, involving undergraduate Seho Park as first author, was published in Nature Communications.
In 2024, undergraduate Taesik Youn, serving as first author, conducted the world’s first total synthesis of the natural product securinine G, which has potential applications in cancer treatment and drug development. In 2025, two studies involving undergraduate Minjae Kim were published. His co-first-authored research on a wearable carbon dioxide sensor for real-time breath monitoring appeared in Device, a Cell Press journal, while his lead-author study on OLED displays was published in Nature Communications. Undergraduate Jaehong Cho received both the Best Paper Award and the Distinguished Artifact Award at an IEEE international conference based on his URP research. Through URP, undergraduate-led, world-class research achievements continue to emerge across diverse fields, including drug development, wearable devices, displays, and artificial intelligence. These students are not only publishing in internationally recognized journals and receiving awards at international conferences but also developing advanced research capabilities early in their academic careers.
“These students did not become outstanding researchers through mentorship alone,” said Professor YongKeun Park. “I am grateful that KAIST has created an environment in which faculty members can conduct research alongside such exceptional students. A professor’s role, I believe, is to help students further develop the tremendous potential they already possess.”
“Research is about discovering something new, which means that undergraduate and graduate students begin from the same starting point,” he added. “What ultimately shapes a researcher is the depth of their engagement, their persistence in the face of setbacks, and their ability to formulate questions independently and seek out answers.”Questions first explored in undergraduate laboratories 12 years ago are now driving new research and innovation at universities and companies around the world. KAIST will continue to expand research opportunities through URP so that students can pursue their own questions and create new knowledge.
2026.08.10 View 3036 -
KAIST Global Entrepreneurship Summer School Marks Fifth Consecutive Year of Cultivating Future Entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley
The 2026 Global Entrepreneurship Summer School (GESS), organized by the KAIST Office of Global Initiatives, has successfully concluded its fifth annual program.
Now in its fifth year, GESS has become KAIST's flagship global entrepreneurship program, providing students with firsthand experience in Silicon Valley—the world's leading startup ecosystem—and equipping them with the entrepreneurial mindset and global competencies needed to launch ventures on the international stage.
Participants in the 2026 GESS program, including both undergraduate and graduate students, were selected through a competitive process consisting of document screening, interviews, team presentations, and peer evaluations.
Prior to traveling to Silicon Valley, the selected students completed a four-month preparatory program that included team building, customer discovery, business model development, and pitch preparation. Throughout the program, they received mentoring from entrepreneurs, venture investors, and industry experts, enabling them to refine their business ideas and evaluate their potential for entering global markets.
The Silicon Valley program, held in late June, was organized in collaboration with leading startup support organizations, including KOTRA Silicon Valley, IBK Changgong Silicon Valley, and Plug and Play. Through meetings with entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and representatives from global technology companies, students gained firsthand insight into the Silicon Valley startup ecosystem while developing a deeper understanding of global markets.
For the fourth consecutive year, students from the KAIST College of Business Impact MBA program also participated in the Silicon Valley program, creating valuable opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration and exchange among students with diverse academic backgrounds and professional experiences.
A highlight of this year's program was a startup storytelling workshop conducted in collaboration with educators from Stanford University. The workshop helped students strengthen their communication skills by learning how to present their ideas more persuasively—an essential competency for aspiring global entrepreneurs.
In partnership with KAIST alumni based in Silicon Valley, participants also visited leading global technology companies and unicorn startups, including Meta, NVIDIA, and Moloco. They attended networking events with local professionals and alumni, gaining firsthand exposure to the innovation culture and growth strategies of global technology companies while broadening their perspectives on international careers and entrepreneurship.
To put into practice one of the core values of entrepreneurship—creating positive social impact—GESS participants also organized "Let's Play AI+Tech," a community outreach program for elementary school students from underserved families in Sunnyvale, California. Designed and led entirely by KAIST students, the program introduced fundamental concepts in artificial intelligence through engaging, hands-on activities for children and their parents. The initiative also offered KAIST students a meaningful opportunity to give back to the local community while sharing their expertise in AI and technology.
The program concluded with the Final Pitch Competition, where each team presented the business models they had developed over several months to a panel of Silicon Valley investors and entrepreneurship experts. Through expert feedback and evaluation, participants had the opportunity to validate the global potential of their ventures.
Following a highly competitive final round, Team CUPID was named the overall winner. Team CUPID presented an AI-powered developer platform that automatically routes coding tasks to the most cost-effective AI model, significantly reducing developers' AI usage costs. The team received high praise from the judges for its clear problem definition, strong market potential, and scalability in the global market.
Gianidita Nurani Pertiwi, a member of Team CUPID and a student in the Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, said, "GESS provided an invaluable opportunity to experience Silicon Valley's entrepreneurial ecosystem firsthand. Through conversations with founders, investors, and industry experts, I learned how to refine our ideas from a global perspective. The experience has motivated me to continue pursuing innovation that can create meaningful impact beyond borders."
The 2026 GESS program has been organized for the fifth consecutive year by the Office of Global Initiative in collaboration with the Impact MBA program and the Startup KAIST. KAIST will continue strengthening partnerships with Silicon Valley and other global innovation hubs to nurture entrepreneurial talent capable of leading future industries worldwide.
2026.07.06 View 3365 -
Graduate School of Global Digital Innovation (GDI) Hosts 'AI⁺ Global Prosperity Forum 2026'
The Graduate School of Global Digital Innovation (GDI) of KAIST will host the "AI⁺ Global Prosperity Forum 2026" on June 24 at the Chung Kunmo Conference Hall (5F), KAIST Academic Cultural Complex (E9).
KAIST Graduate School of Global Digital Innovation (GDI) is carrying out the "ICT Global Specialized Convergence Talent Cultivation Program" supported by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Institute of Information & Communications Technology Planning & Evaluation (IITP). Since the launch of the Global IT Technology Program (ITTP) in 2006, GDI has grown into South Korea's representative global digital talent fostering platform over the past 20 years, nurturing approximately 260 government officials, public institution experts, and industry leaders from over 80 countries. GDI serves as a vehicle for global cooperation, sharing Korea's digital innovation experience and policy know-how with the international community, and promoting various collaborative projects such as international joint research, policy cooperation, and digital transformation projects based on its global network.
This forum, organized by GDI as part of the ICT Global Specialized Convergence Talent Cultivation Program under the theme 'Advancing Global AI Leadership Through Partnership and Innovation,' is designed to discuss global cooperation strategies for international partnership, digital transformation, and sustainable development in the AI era.
The event is expected to bring together approximately 60 government officials, international organization experts, researchers, and industry leaders from around 30 countries across Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and Europe. Notably, representatives from the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Ministry of Communications and Digital Affairs of Indonesia, and various foreign governments, public institutions, and international organizations will participate to share AI governance, digital transformation, innovation policies, and international cooperation cases.
The forum will feature two main sessions:
Session 1: Global AI Partnership and Collaboration
Session 2: AI Policy, Governance, AI Innovation, and Applications
Participants will discuss global cooperation models in the AI era, digital transformation in the public sector, and methods for establishing AI policy and governance frameworks.
In addition, an 'AI⁺ Industry Showcase' featuring Korean AI and digital innovation enterprises alongside corporate exhibition booths will be operated simultaneously. Participating companies will introduce their innovative AI-based technologies and services, and seek opportunities for Proof of Concept (PoC), joint research, digital transformation projects, and overseas market expansion through business matching sessions with foreign government and public institution officials.
This forum is highly anticipated to serve as a global platform connecting AI technology, policy, industry, and international cooperation, while sharing Korea's AI capabilities and digital innovation experiences with the world and creating practical cooperative outcomes such as international joint research and digital transformation projects.
Seunghun Han, Head of the Graduate School of Global Digital Innovation, stated, "AI has moved beyond mere technology to become a core agenda for national development and international cooperation." He added, "We expect this forum to serve as a venue where policymakers, experts, and companies from around the world gather to explore future AI cooperation strategies and build new global partnerships."
The forum is open to any researchers, students, and the general public interested in AI and global cooperation through pre-registration (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1QmYMqaD4uoT11NxUZb4ZSQBVgDxex5DJ3_4-eCoqgVI/edit).
※ Inquiries: KAIST Graduate School of Global Digital Innovation (gdi.adm@kaist.ac.kr / 042-350-6845)
2026.06.11 View 4468 -
KAIST Reveals the Orbital Principle of Electron Motion for Realizing Memory of Dreams
<(From Left) Dr. Geun-Hee Lee, Professor Kyung-Jin Lee, Professor Kyoung-Whan Kim>
Research is actively underway to develop a “dream memory” that can reduce heat generation in smartphones and laptops while delivering faster performance and lower power consumption. Korean researchers have now proposed a new possibility for controlling magnetism using the exchange interaction of electron orbitals—the motion of electrons orbiting around an atomic nucleus—rather than relying on the conventional exchange interaction of electron spin, the rotational property of electrons inside semiconductors.
KAIST (President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on the 16th of March that a joint research team led by Professor Kyung-Jin Lee of the Department of Physics at KAIST and Professor Kyoung-Whan Kim of the Department of Physics at Yonsei University (President Dong-Sup Yoon) has established, for the first time in the world, a new theoretical framework enabling magnetism to be freely controlled through orbital exchange interaction*, surpassing the limitations of conventional technologies that control magnetism using electric currents.*Orbital exchange interaction: a phenomenon in which the orbitals formed by electrons moving around an atomic nucleus interact with one another, thereby influencing the direction or properties of magnetism.
Until now, next-generation memory research has mainly focused on the spin of electrons. Spin refers to the property of electrons that rotate on their own axis like tiny spinning tops, and information can be stored by using the direction of this rotation. However, electrons simultaneously move around the atomic nucleus along paths known as orbitals. In this study, the research team theoretically demonstrated that when electric current flows, the orbital energy of electrons interacts directly with the orbitals of magnetic materials, enabling the transmission of information. Through this mechanism, they confirmed that the properties of magnets can be altered much more efficiently than with conventional spin-based approaches.
The most significant outcome of this research is the discovery that electric current does not merely change the direction of a magnet but can also modify the intrinsic properties of the magnet itself, such as the magnetic anisotropy (a magnet’s preferred direction) and rotational characteristics.
In particular, calculations by the research team showed that orbital-based control effects could be significantly stronger than existing spin-based methods. This finding suggests the possibility of a future era of orbital-based electronic devices, in which orbitals rather than spin play the central role in semiconductor components. The researchers also proposed practical experimental methods to measure these effects, which is expected to increase the potential for industrial applications.
The principle may also apply to altermagnetic materials, which have recently attracted significant attention in academia. Altermagnetism refers to a new form of magnetic material in which electron spins within atoms are arranged in alternating directions in an ordered pattern. Although these materials do not appear magnetic externally, they strongly influence electron motion. Because of this property, they allow precise control of electron states and are considered promising for high-speed, low-power semiconductor devices and next-generation memory technologies. The study therefore provides a strong theoretical foundation for developing future logic and memory devices.
Dr. Geun-Hee Lee stated, “This study demonstrates that controlling magnetism with electric current does not necessarily have to rely solely on spin. A new perspective—understanding and controlling magnetism using the orbital motion of electrons—will become an important milestone for the development of next-generation ultra-fast, low-power memory.”
In this research, Dr. Geun-Hee Lee (KAIST) participated as the first author, while Professor Kyoung-Whan Kim (Yonsei University) and Professor Kyung-Jin Lee (KAIST) served as co-corresponding authors. The results were published on February 2 in the internationally renowned journal Nature Communications, recognizing the academic significance of the work.
※ Paper title: “Orbital exchange-mediated current control of magnetism,” DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-68846-x
This research was supported by the Frontier Challenge R&D Project, the Mid-Career Researcher Program, the Science Research Center (SRC) program, the Early Career Researcher Program of the National Research Foundation of Korea, and Samsung Electronics.
2026.03.16 View 4056 -
KAIST Predicts Human Group Behavior with AI! 1st Place at the World’s Top Conference… Major Success after 23 Years
<(From Left) Ph.D candidate Geon Lee, Ph.D candidate Minyoung Choe, M.S candidate Jaewan Chun, Professor Kijung Shin, M.S candidate Seokbum Yoon>
KAIST (President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on the 9th of December that Professor Kijung Shin’s research team at the Kim Jaechul Graduate School of AI has developed a groundbreaking AI technology that predicts complex social group behavior by analyzing how individual attributes such as age and role influence group relationships.
With this technology, the research team achieved the remarkable feat of winning the Best Paper Award at the world-renowned data mining conference “IEEE ICDM,” hosted by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). This is the highest honor awarded to only one paper out of 785 submissions worldwide, and marks the first time in 23 years that a Korean university research team has received this award, once again demonstrating KAIST’s technological leadership on the global research stage.
Today, group interactions involving many participants at the same time—such as online communities, research collaborations, and group chats—are rapidly increasing across society. However, there has been a lack of technology that can precisely explain both how such group behavior is structured and how individual characteristics influence it at the same time.
To overcome this limitation, Professor Kijung Shin’s research team developed an AI model called “NoAH (Node Attribute-based Hypergraph Generator),” which realistically reproduces the interplay between individual attributes and group structure.
NoAH is an artificial intelligence that explains and imitates what kinds of group behaviors emerge when people’s characteristics come together. For example, it can analyze and faithfully reproduce how information such as a person’s interests and roles actually combine to form group behavior.
As such, NoAH is an AI that generates “realistic group behavior” by simultaneously reflecting human traits and relationships. It was shown to reproduce various real-world group behaviors—such as product purchase combinations in e-commerce, the spread of online discussions, and co-authorship networks among researchers—far more realistically than existing models.
< The process of generating group interactions using NoAH >
Professor Kijung Shin stated, “This study opens a new AI paradigm that enables a richer understanding of complex interactions by considering not only the structure of groups but also individual attributes together,” and added, “Analyses of online communities, messengers, and social networks will become far more precise.”
This research was conducted by a team consisting of Professor Kijung Shin and KAIST Kim Jaechul Graduate School of AI students: master’s students Jaewan Chun and Seokbum Yoon, and doctoral students Minyoung Choe and Geon Lee, and was presented at IEEE ICDM on November 18.
※ Paper title: “Attributed Hypergraph Generation with Realistic Interplay Between Structure and Attributes” Original paper: https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.21838
< Photo from the award ceremony held on November 14 at the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C.>
Meanwhile, including this award-winning paper, Professor Shin’s research team presented a total of four papers at IEEE ICDM this year. In addition, in 2023, the team also received the Best Student Paper Runner-up (4th place) at the same conference.
This work was supported by Institute of Information & Communications Technology Planning & Evaluation (IITP) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (No. RS-202400457882, AI Research Hub Project) (RS-2019-II190075, Artificial Intelligence Graduate School Program (KAIST)) (No. RS-2022-II220871, Development of AI Autonomy and Knowledge Enhancement for AI Agent Collaboration).
2025.12.09 View 7107 -
KAIST and the World Bank Launch Digital Innovation Initiative to Boost Youth Employment in East Africa
Daejeon, Republic of Korea — November 2025 — KAIST has joined forces with the World Bank to launch a new initiative aimed at advancing youth employment and social protection systems through digital innovation in East Africa. The project, titled “Enhancing Youth Employment Policies through Digital Technologies,” will be implemented in Rwanda, Kenya, and Tanzania over the next three years.
The initiative is jointly led by Professor Kyung Ryul Park of the KAIST Graduate School of Science and Technology Policy, John Van Dyck, Director of the World Bank’s Social Protection and Labor (SPL) Global Practice, and Yoon Young Cho, Senior Economist at the World Bank. Supported by the Korea–World Bank Partnership Facility (KWPF), the project is funded at approximately KRW 1.4 billion (USD 980,000) and will run through 2028.
The collaboration aims to strengthen youth employment and advance the digital transformation of social protection systems in East Africa. In many developing countries, such systems are still managed manually, resulting in inefficiencies and inaccuracies. To address these challenges, the project will establish AI- and big data–driven digital social registry systems that enhance transparency, accuracy, and efficiency in social service delivery.
Beyond technology transfer, the project will also explore broader social and policy challenges that arise in digital labor markets — including algorithmic bias, ethical considerations in AI, and new forms of inequality. Through this work, the partners aim to develop a new model for an “inclusive AI transition,” ensuring that technological innovation contributes to social inclusion and sustainable development. Findings from the project will be published in World Bank reports and policy briefs.
As a global leader in digital governance and data-driven policymaking, South Korea’s experience is expected to play a key role in helping East African governments design and implement resilient, inclusive, and data-based labor and social protection systems.
The KAIST Global Center for Development and Strategy (G-CODEs) will organize two international workshops in collaboration with the Korea Development Institute (KDI), the Ministry of Employment and Labor of Korea, and the Kenya Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (Kenya-AIST). These workshops will help local officials build capacity in applying digital technologies, while providing KAIST researchers and students with hands-on experience in global development cooperation.
A kickoff workshop was held during the World Bank Annual Meetings earlier this month, with participation from Professors Kyung-Ryul Park and Seok-Kyun Woo (Graduate School of Science and Technology Policy), Dean Ji-Yong Eom (Graduate School of Green Growth and Sustainability), Researcher Seung-Hyun Kim, and Consultant Ji-Su Sim (M.S. Class of 2025, STP).
“This collaboration is not merely a technical project but an innovative effort to digitally connect youth employment and social protection systems,” said John Van Dyck, Director of the World Bank SPL Global Practice. “It will help East African governments design sustainable and inclusive digital labor infrastructures.”
Yoon Young Cho, Senior Economist at the World Bank, added, “The project seeks to digitalize social protection systems in East Africa to promote youth employment and social inclusion, focusing on building sustainable, government-led public digital solutions.”
Professor Kyung-Ryul Park of KAIST stated, “Through this partnership with the World Bank, we hope to support inclusive development in East Africa while offering KAIST researchers and students valuable opportunities to learn and grow through real-world international cooperation.”
2025.11.05 View 7013 -
Thinking outside the box to Fabricate Customized 3D Neural Chips
<(From Left) Professor Yoonkey Nam, Dr. Dongjo Yoon from the Department of Bio and Brain Engineering>
Cultured neural tissues have been widely used as a simplified experimental model for brain research. However, existing devices for growing and recording neural tissues, which are manufactured using semiconductor processes, have limitations in terms of shape modification and the implementation of three-dimensional (3D) structures.
By "thinking outside the box," a KAIST research team has successfully created a customized 3D neural chip. They first used a 3D printer to fabricate a hollow channel structure, then used capillary action to automatically fill the channels with conductive ink, creating the electrodes and wiring. This achievement is expected to significantly increase the design freedom and versatility of brain science and brain engineering research platforms.
On the 25th, KAIST announced that a research team led by Professor Yoonkey Nam from the Department of Bio and Brain Engineering has successfully developed a platform technology that overcomes the limitations of traditional semiconductor-based manufacturing. This technology allows for the precise fabrication of "3D microelectrode array" (neural interfaces with multiple microelectrodes arranged in a 3D space to measure and stimulate the electrophysiological signal of neurons) in various customized forms for in vitro culture chips.
Existing 3D microelectrode array fabrication, based on semiconductor processes, has limited 3D design freedom and is expensive. While 3D printing-based fabrication techniques have recently been proposed to overcome these issues, they still have limitations in terms of 3D design freedom for various in vitro neural network structures because they follow the traditional sequence of "conductive material patterning → insulator coating → electrode opening."
The KAIST research team leveraged the excellent 3D design freedom provided by 3D printing technology and its ability to use printed materials as insulators. By reversing the traditional process, they established an innovative method that allows for more flexible design and functional measurement of 3D neuronal network models for in vitro culture.
<Schematic Diagram of an Integrated Cell Culture Substrate-Microelectrode Array Platform for In Vitro Cultured 3D Neural Network Models>
First, they used a 3D printer to print a hollow 3D insulator with micro-tunnels. This structure was designed to serve as a stable scaffold for conductive materials in 3D space while also supporting the creation of various 3D neuronal networks. They then demonstrated that by using capillary action to fill these internal micro-tunnels with conductive ink, they could create a 3D scaffold-microelectrode array with more freely arranged microelectrodes within a complex 3D culture support structure.
The new platform can be used to create various chip shapes, such as probe-type, cube-type, and modular-type, and supports the fabrication of electrodes using different materials like graphite, conductive polymers, and silver nanoparticles. This allows for the simultaneous measurement of multichannel neural signals from both inside and outside the 3D neuronal network, enabling precise analysis of the dynamic interactions and connectivity between neurons.
Professor Nam stated, "This research, which combines 3D printing and capillary action, is an achievement that significantly expands the freedom of neural chip fabrication." He added that it will contribute to the advancement of fundamental brain science research using neural tissue, as well as applied fields like cell-based biosensors and biocomputing.
Dr. Dongjo Yoon from KAIST's Department of Bio and Brain Engineering participated as the first author of the study. The research findings were published online in the international academic journal Advanced Functional Materials (June 25th issue).
※Paper Title: Highly Customizable Scaffold-Type 3D Microelectrode Array Platform for Design and Analysis of the 3D Neuronal Network In Vitro
This research was supported by the Consolidator Grants Program and the Global Basic Research Laboratory Program of the National Research Foundation of Korea.
2025.09.26 View 5912 -
KAIST Establishes 2 Billion KRW Scholarship Fund for the School of Computing through Matching Donation by Alumnus Byung-Gyu Chang
<(From Left) President Kwang Hyung Lee, Chairman Byung-Gyu Chang Professor Sukyoung Ryu from head of the School of Computing>
KAIST (President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on the 1st of September that the School of Computing has established a “School of Computing Scholarship Fund” (worth 2 billion KRW) to provide consistent support for students in urgent need of financial assistance.
Professor Sukyoung Ryu, head of the School of Computing, who led the fundraising initiative, said, “Serving as a member of the KAIST Scholarship Committee since 2021, where the ‘Inseojeonggong Scholarship,’ also known as the ‘Emergency Relief Scholarship,’ greatly helped financially struggling students, I found it regrettable that once the principal was depleted, we were unable to continue providing support. With the establishment of this new School of Computing scholarship, we plan to begin providing aid from the Fall 2025 semester and hope that this initiative will expand to the entire KAIST community.”
Starting fundraising in May 2023, the School of Computing raised 1 billion KRW from a total of 63 donors. Alumnus Byung-Gyu Chang, Chairman of Krafton, supported the purpose of the scholarship and expanded the fund to 2 billion KRW by donating an equivalent amount through a 1:1 matching grant system.
The fundraising campaign saw participation from current students, alumni, faculty, and both current and former professors. Among them, alumni couple Jungtaek Kim (entered KAIST in ’92) and So-Yeon Ahn donated 200 million KRW to help students facing financial difficulties in their studies or job preparation. Alumni couple Ha-Yeon Seo (entered KAIST in ’95) and Dong-Hun Hahn (entered KAIST in ’96), following their earlier donation for the expansion of the School of Computing building, contributed an additional 40 million KRW to the scholarship fund.
Professor Emeritus Kyu-Young Whang and Professor Kyunghyun Cho of NYU, who had previously donated to the Kyu-Young Whang Scholarship Fund (formerly the Odysseus Scholarship Fund) and the Lim Mi-Sook Scholarship Fund respectively, also joined this initiative. Alumnus Seung Hyun Lee donated the entire $220,000 reward he received for reporting a critical security vulnerability in the Chrome browser.
Alumnus Bum-Gyu Lee, who co-runs the non-degree program “SW Academy Jungle” with the School of Computing, expressed gratitude for the role the school played in the growth of both himself and his company. Inquiring whether it “would be okay if [he] covered the remaining amount out of the 1 billion KRW target,” he became the final donor.
Professor Ryu emphasized, “Through this scholarship, I hope students who previously had to choose undesired paths due to financial reasons—despite wanting to pursue entrepreneurship or graduate studies—will have the chance to fully dedicate at least a semester or a year to the challenges they truly wish to take on.”
Chairman Byung-Gyu Chang stated, “I deeply resonate with the scholarship’s purpose of prioritizing support for students making career choices under financial strain. To accelerate its realization, I decided to make a matching donation equal to the fundraising amount. I hope this will serve as an opportunity to restructure the university-wide scholarship system.”
President Kwang Hyung Lee remarked that “KAIST’s greatest asset is its talented students who will lead the future, and no student should ever give up on studies, entrepreneurship, or dreams for financial reasons.” He added, “I hope this School of Computing scholarship will serve as a solid foundation for students to design and pursue their future challenges. I would like to thank all donors for their support and will actively review Chairman Chang’s proposal to ensure its realization.”
Meanwhile, the KAIST Development Foundation is actively promoting the “TeamKAIST” campaign for the general public and alumni to bring together more “KAIST benefactors.”
※ Related Website: https://giving.kaist.ac.kr/ko/sub01/sub0103_1.php
2025.09.01 View 4567 -
“Why are we depressed?” KAIST is identifying the cause of depression and uncovering clues for treatment
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the most common psychiatric illnesses worldwide, but its molecular causes* have still not been clearly identified. A domestic research team has discovered that depression may not simply be caused by neuronal damage, but can also arise from the dysregulation of specific neural signaling pathways. In particular, they identified the molecular reason why elderly patients with depression do not respond to conventional antidepressants. This study suggests the possibility of therapeutic approaches using optogenetic technology to regulate neural signaling, and it provides clues for the development of new treatment strategies targeting the protein ‘Numb’ protein for elderly patients with depression.
*Molecular causes: explanations for the origin of a disease at the level of molecules, proteins, or genes in the brain.
KAIST (President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on the 19th of August that a research team led by Distinguished Professor Won Do Heo of the Department of Biological Sciences at KAIST, in collaboration with forensic pathologist Minju Lee of the National Forensic Service (Director Bong Woo Lee) and Professor Seokhwi Kim of the Department of Pathology at Ajou University Medical Center (Director Sangwook Han), identified a new molecular mechanism for depression through RNA sequencing and the immunohistochemical analysis of brain tissue from patients who had committed suicide. Furthermore, they demonstrated in animal models that antidepressant effects can be restored by regulating the signaling pathway that induces neural recovery using optogenetic technology.
The research team focused on the hippocampus, the brain region responsible for memory and emotion, and in particular on the dentate gyrus (DG). The DG is the entry point of information into the hippocampus, playing a role in new memory formation, neurogenesis, and emotional regulation, and is closely linked with depression.
Using two representative mouse models for depression (the corticosterone stress model and the chronic unpredictable stress model), the team found that stress induced a striking increase in the signaling receptor FGFR1 (Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor 1) in the DG. FGFR1 receives growth factor (FGF) signals and transmits growth and differentiation commands within cells.
Subsequently, using conditional knockout (cKO) mice in which the FGFR1 gene was deleted, the researchers revealed that the absence of FGFR1 made mice more vulnerable to stress and led them to exhibit depressive symptoms more quickly. This indicates that FGFR1 plays a critical role in proper neural regulation and stress resistance.
The team then developed an ‘optoFGFR1 system’ using optogenetics, enabling FGFR1 —essential for stress resistance—to be activated by light. They observed that activating FGFR1 in depression mouse models lacking FGFR1 restored antidepressant effects. In other words, they experimentally demonstrated that the activation of FGFR1 signaling alone could improve depressive behavior.
Surprisingly, however, in aged depression mouse models, the activation of FGFR1 signaling through the optoFGFR1 system did not yield antidepressant effects. Investigating further, the researchers found that in the aged brains, a protein called ‘Numb’ was excessively expressed and interfered with FGFR1 signaling.
Indeed, analysis of postmortem human brain tissue also showed the specific overexpression of Numb protein only in elderly patients with depression. When the researchers suppressed Numb using a gene regulatory tool (shRNA) while simultaneously activating FGFR1 signaling in mouse models, neurogenesis and behavior—previously unrecoverable—returned to normal even in aged depression models. This shows that the Numb protein acts as a “blocker” of FGFR1 signaling and is a key factor preventing the hippocampus from executing antidepressant mechanisms.
Distinguished Professor Won Do Heo of KAIST said, “This study is meaningful in that it revealed that depression may not only result from simple neuronal damage, but can also arise from the dysregulation of specific neural signaling pathways. In particular, we identified the molecular reason why antidepressants are less effective in elderly patients, and we expect this to provide a clue for the development of new therapeutic strategies targeting the Numb protein.”
He added, “Moreover, this interdisciplinary study, which combined KAIST’s expertise in neuroscience with the National Forensic Service’s forensic brain analysis technologies, is expected to serve as a bridge between basic research on psychiatric disorders and clinical applications.”
This study, led by first author Jongpil Shin, a PhD student in the Department of Biological Sciences at KAIST, was published on August 15, 2025, in the international journal Experimental & Molecular Medicine.
Paper title: “Dysregulation of FGFR1 signaling in the hippocampus facilitates depressive disorder”
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s12276-025-01519-9
This research was supported by the Ministry of Science and ICT’s National Research Foundation of Korea through the ASTRA program and the Bio-Medical Technology Development project.
2025.08.19 View 6686 -
KAIST Takes the Lead in Developing Core Technologies for Generative AI National R&D Project
KAIST announced on the 15th of August that Professor Sanghoo Park of the Department of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering has won two consecutive awards for early-career researchers at two of the world's most prestigious plasma academic conferences.
Professor Park was selected as a recipient of the Early Career Award (ECA) at the Gaseous Electronics Conference (GEC), hosted by the American Physical Society, on August 4. He was also honored with the Young Investigator Award, presented by the International Plasma Chemistry Society (IPCS), on June 19.
The American Physical Society's GEC Early Career Award is given to only one person worldwide every two years, based on a comprehensive evaluation of research excellence, academic influence, and contributions to the field of plasma. The award will be presented at GEC 2025, which will be held at COEX in Seoul from October 13 to 17.
Established in 1948, the GEC is a leading academic conference in the plasma field with a 77-year history of showcasing key research achievements in all areas of plasma, including physics, chemistry, diagnostics, and application technologies. Recently, advanced application research such as eco-friendly chemical processes, next-generation semiconductors, and atomic layer and ultra-low-temperature etching technology for HBM processes have been gaining attention.
To commemorate the award, Professor Park will give an invited lecture at GEC 2025 on the topic of "Deep-Learning-Based Spectroscopic Data Analysis for Advancing Plasma Spectroscopy." In his lecture, he will use case studies to demonstrate a method that allows even non-specialists to easily and quickly perform spectroscopic data analysis—which is essential for spectroscopy, a key analytical method in modern science including plasma diagnostics—by using deep learning technology.
Professor Park also won the Young Investigator Award from the IPCS at the 26th International Symposium on Plasma Chemistry (ISPC 26), which was held in Minneapolis, USA, from June 15 to 20.
First held in 1973, the ISPC (International Symposium on Plasma Chemistry) is a representative international conference in the field of plasma chemistry, held biennially. It covers a wide range of topics, from basic plasma chemical reaction principles to applications in semiconductor processes, green energy, environmental science, and biotechnology. Researchers from industry, academia, and research institutions worldwide share their latest findings at each event. The Young Investigator Award is given to a scientist who has obtained their doctorate within the last 10 years and has demonstrated outstanding achievements in the field.
Professor Park was recognized for his leading research achievements in using plasma-liquid interactions and real-time optical diagnostic technology to environmentally fix nitrogen from the air and precisely control the quantity and types of reactive chemical species that are beneficial to the human body and the environment.
Professor Sanghoo Park stated, "It is very meaningful to receive the Young Investigator Award representing Korea at the GEC event, which is being held in Korea for the first time in its history." He added, "I am happy that my consistent interest in and achievements in fundamental plasma science have been recognized, and it is even more significant that the efforts of the KAIST research team have been acknowledged by the world's top conferences."
2025.08.16 View 7208