Biotechnology
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International Science Journal Spotlights Korean Biotechnology
Biotechnology Journal published by German-based Wiley-VCH, one of the world"s major scientific and technical publishers, devoted its entire special edition for May to biotechnology in Korea.
The monthly journal"s special issue was planned by KAIST Professor Sang-Yup Lee of the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department who is one of the journal"s two editors-in-chief.
The special issue outlines the current status and future prospect of biotechnology in Korea, and presents five review papers and eight original papers by leading Korean biotech researchers to showcase recent developments in Korean biotechnology. Among these papers, a review by Dr. Byung-Hwan Hyeon and his colleagues describes in detail the Korean biotechnology strategies represented by "Bio-Vision 2016," and another by Dr. Ji-Hyun Kim and his collaborators presents recent progress in microbial genome projects in Korea.
In the editorial of the journal, Prof. Lee said, "Heavy industry and IT industry have been the two drivers of Korean economic growth. Korea is now considering biotechnology as its next generation growth engine."
Underscoring the growing importance of fusion research, he mentioned that integration of biotechnology with information technology and nanotechnology is advancing rapidly in Korea. Another special edition of Biotechnology Journal focusing on these exciting biotech developments in Korea is planned for the future.
2008.05.20 View 12914 -
Prof. Sang-Yup Lee Co-Editor-in-Chief of Biotechnology Journal
Prof. Sang-Yup Lee of KAIST"s Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering has been appointed as co-editor-in-chief of Biotechnology Journal published by Wiley-VCH, a German-based leading technical publisher, university authorities said Tuesday, April 15.
Launched in January 2006, Biotechnology Journal has covered biological process, brain ailments, biological medicine, protein design and other applied bio-sciences.
Starting in May, Lee will be responsible for setting and overseeing editorial direction of the journal along with Prof. Alois Jungbauer of Austria.
Professor Lee has been gaining recognition in and outside the country for his research on metabolic engineering. In 2002, he was chosen as one of Asia"s next generation leaders by the World Economic Forum. In 2007, Lee was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world"s largest general scientific society. He is also serving as an editorial member of more than ten international journals including Biotechnology & Bioengineering.
Awards and honors include the First Young Scientist"s Award from the President of Korea, the Scientist of the Month Award from the Korean Ministry of Science and Technology, the Best Patent Award from Korean Intellectual Property Office, the Citation Classic Award from ISI, USA, and the First Elmer Gaden Award (1999 Best Paper Award) from Biotechnology and Bioengineering (John Wiley & Sons, USA) at the ACS National meeting.
2008.04.16 View 12862 -
Professor Sang-Yup Lee Senior Editor of U.S. Biotechnology Journal
Professor Sang-Yup Lee Named Senior Editor of U.S. Biotechnology Journal
Will supervise paper examination in the fields of system biology, system bioengineering and
metabolic engineering, and set editing direction
Professor Sang-Yup Lee, LG Chemical’s Chair-Professor and the leader of BK project group of KAIST Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department, was named senior editor of Biotechnology Journal published by the U.S. Wiley-VCH.
Professor Lee will supervise paper examination in the fields of system biology, system bioengineering and metabolic engineering, and set and manage the editing direction of the journal.
‘Biotechnology Journal’ was first published in January 2006 to exchange rapidly-exchanging knowledge and information in life science and its relevant fields by Wiley, a world-famous science journal publisher with the history of 208 years (founded in 1799). Particularly, ‘Biotechnology Journal’ is a new-typed scientific journal treating various fields such as life science research-relevant ethics and cultures necessary for general people as well as expertise research information of life science.
“Although taking charge of editing of many scientific journals spends much time, it’s very fruitful that I’ll lead the direction of research papers of many world-famous scientific journals and I can make efforts to prevent outstanding papers by Korean scientists from being disadvantaged,” said Professor Lee.
“More Korean scholars are taking charge of editing jobs of world-famous scientific journals. It’s a good indication that the capacities of Korean science and engineering have been enhanced significantly as much,” a staff of KAIST PR team said.
Meanwhile, Professor Lee, distinguished by outstanding research performances in the fields of metabolic engineering and system life engineering, is now ▲associate editor of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, top scientific journal of biotech engineering published by the U.S. Wiley ▲editor of Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology published by German Springer ▲ associate editor of Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering by German Springer, and editing member of ▲ Journal of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology by Singapore’s World Scientific ▲ Asia Pacific Biotech News ▲ Biochemical Engineering Journal, Metabolic Engineering, and Microbial Cell Factory by Elsevier.
2007.02.02 View 14067 -
Professor Sang-Yup Lee publishes a requested paper in Nature Biotechnology
Professor Sang-Yup Lee publishes a requested paper in Nature Biotechnology
“The era of commercialized bioplastic is coming”
Disclose an opinion as specialist at a requested paper in Nature Biotechnology, October 2006
A team led by Barbel Friedrich, Professor of Humboldt-Universitat zu Berlin, and Alexander Steinbuchel, Professor of West falische Wilhelms-Universitat Munster, found out the entire genome sequence of the typical bioplastic-producing microorganism ‘Ralstonia eutropha’ and published a paper on it in Nature Biotechnology, October 2006. As the entire genome sequence of the typical bioplactic-producing microorganism has been discovered, it is expected that the efficient production of bioplastic will be available through strain improvement at a more systematic level.
Regarding this paper, Nature Biotechnology requested world-renowned scholar Sang-Yup Lee, LG Chemical Chair-Professor of KAIST Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department, an expert analysis on the future of bioplastic production as a result of the deciphering of the genome sequence, and Professor Lee revealed his opinion at ‘News and Views’ in Nature Biotechnology, October 2006, issued on October 10. In the analysis, he insisted, “The deciphering of the genomes of Ralstonia means to pave the way for the improvement of strains at a system level by combining simulation through various omics and imaginary cells and engineering at a genome level. It will be possible to produce plastic with desired properties by altering the components of plastic as desired and produce bioplastic, more efficient and economical than have been reported so far, through the optimization of metabolic flow.”
Professor Lee is a world-renowned scholar in the bioplastic field, who has presented about 70 SCI papers in the field. He created a word ‘Plastic Bacteria’ at Trends in Biotechnology in 1996 and published an expert paper regarding E.Coli Plastic at Nature Biotechnology in 1997. He is now performing a research concerning the improvement of bioplastic-producing strains as an example of a research employing a systematic method for the system biological research and development project of the Ministry of Science and Technology.
The followings are the contents of Professor Lee’s paper concerning microorganism plastic published at ‘News and Views’ in Nature Biotechnology, October 2006.
- Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) is a high molecule that numerous microorganisms accumulate in their own cells as energy storage substance when they are rich in carbonic resources, but poor in the other growth factors. The PHA high molecule is polyester, in which the unit substances (unit chemicals) are ester-bonded, and has been studied worldwide about twenty years before. However, PHA’s worse properties than petrochemical plastic and extremely high production cost have prevented its commercialization. The production cost of PHA was 15 dollars per kg in 1980’s, twenty times higher than the price of polypropylene. Sang-Yup Lee, LG Chemical Chair-Professor of KAIST Chemical & Biomolecular Department’s BK21 Project Group, has performed a research concerning the efficient production of microorganism plastic through the combination of metabolic engineering and fermentation process under the support of the Ministry of Science and Technology, and developed a process that lowers the production cost of PHA to 2-3 dollars per kg. He also has developed PHA-producing bacteria, efficient enough to fill plastic tightly, and named it ‘Plastic Bacteria’.
- The unprecedented rise of oil price for the past two years activated the researches on Bio-based energies and chemical production globally. PHA is also regaining attentions although the researches on it have been withered so far due to its poor economical efficiency and properties. The result of the genome deciphering of the typical plastic-producing microorganism ‘Ralstonia eutropha’ published by a German research team in Nature Biotechnology, October 2006 suggests huge meanings. That is, it will provide a blueprint over the metabolic activities of the bacteria and thus enables more systematic strain improvement.
- Eyeing on these facts, Nature Biotechnology requested Professor Sang-Yup Lee an expert analysis, and Professor Lee analyzed that there would be a dramatic development of microorganism plastic production through the application of the system biological engineering method, which is now being performed actively by Professor Lee at KAIST. In the analysis, Professor Lee revealed, “As the genome sequence has been found out, it becomes possible to establish metabolic network at a genome level, and since simulation becomes available, numberless trial and errors and experiments can be replaced with imaginary experiments rapidly. In addition, It makes the more efficient development of strains possible by fusion-analyzing the omics result such as various transcripts, proteins, metabolites, etc.” He also expected that it would be possible to produce tailor-made PHA having desired properties through metabolic engineering as well as the efficient production of plastic. Besides, he prospected that his research on the production of optically pure hydroxyl carboxyl acid, Professor Lee’s international patent right, would gain driving forces and technical development would be made rapidly at biological hydrogen production, production, dissolution and application of aromatic compounds, etc. by featuring this strain.
- Recently, Metabolic and ADM, U.S. companies, jointly started to produce PHA at a commercialization level, and Brazil having rich natural resources is commercializing PHA, following Bio-ethanol. In addition, Japan and Germany having a bunch of research performance in this field, and Australia having rich biomass are also performing consistent researches on PHA’s commercialization. Professor Lee prospected, “With the finding out of the genome sequence of the typical bioplastic-producing microorganism, competition for commercialization will be fiercer among nations through the development of efficient production systems.”
- Professor Lee prospected that as the efficient production of PHA becomes possible, the production of plastic from various renewable ingredients (cellurose, starch, suger, etc.) through microorganism fermentation would be made practically and the white biotechnologies of existing chemicals would gain more power. He also said, “Korea also will have to try to secure the production technologies and industry of Bio-based chemicals through strategic cooperation with resource powerfuls, etc. on the basis of the technical dominancy in some system metabolic engineering fields.”
- ‘News and Views’ in Nature Biotechnology is a section that publishes analyses of world-renowned specialists in the corresponding fields over the contents of some papers having great influences among papers published in the issue. KAIST Professor Sang-Yup Lee has published his second expert analysis of ‘Deciphering bioplastic production’ in the volume of October 2006, following the first paper ‘Going into the era of E.Coli plastic’.
2006.10.23 View 15026
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Professor Chan Beum Park, requested for joint international research by a German biotechnology enterprise.
- Bitop AG (Germany) requested a joint development of medicines for Alzheimer’s disease
- The meaning of the financial support by European enterprise to the research result of domestic university.
Professor Chan Beum Park (Department of Materials Science and Engineering in KAIST/ President Nam Pyo Suh) has been entrusted with a joint international research for the development of medicines for Alzheimer’s disease from Bitop AG, German biotechnology enterprise.
KAIST recently agreed with Bitop AG to cooperate for a research program pursuing the development of inhibitors that inhibit the formation of plaque relevant to amyloid diseases like Alzheimer’s disease. Based on this agreement, KAIST will be provided with a financial support of sixty thousands Euro (about 74 million won) from Bitop AG.
Professor Park will perform the screening of inhibitors, which are the core of the research, and KAIST will share patent rights from the research with Bitop AG.
It is known that various degenerative nerve diseases like Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, mad cow disease, and so on arise mainly from the accumulation of pathological protein plaque termed amyloid, and environmental stress accelerates the diseases.
So far, no effective remedy has been developed for amyloid diseases.
Recently, the use of chemicals inhibiting the formation of amyloid has been raised as a potential remedy.
Natural small stress molecules extracted from microbes growing in extreme environments like volcanic region on the bottom of the deep sea, etc. are gaining attention as an amyloid inhibitor.
Professor Park found out for the first time in the world that Anti-stress materials are effective in inhibiting the formation of amyloid plaque and published that fact in several renowned European scientific journals.
After that, Professor Park was requested by Bitop AG for a joint research and has studied for the development of medicines for Alzheimer’s disease using various kinds of Anti-stress materials.
Professor Park said, “I’d like to grant a highly valuable meaning to this entrustment since it implies that European enterprises perceive the value of the research result by domestic universities and hope to promote research and development by providing practical financial support, etc. I wish this time’s entrustment will be a momentum to advance Korea’s research level one step higher through active joint researches with enterprises or institutes in U.S. and Europe as well as Bitop AG.”
Bitop AG is a German enterprise that produces various Anti-stress materials coming from extreme-loving microbes.
Currently, Anti-stress materials are being sold mainly as protein and cell protectants, cosmetic additives, health supplement, etc.
Anti-stress materials extracted from microbes well growing in extreme environment of one hundred centigrade or more are expected to perform a role of inhibitors that inhibit the formation of amyloid plaque, the main factor of stress-related degenerative nerve diseases like Alzheimer’s disease, etc. Such Anti-stress materials are gaining attention as a future medicine for Alzheimer’s disease, etc.
2006.09.05 View 13917