Four graduate students affiliated with the Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) Institute for Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (Director Jong-hun Kim) have been selected for the 'Research Encouragement Program for Doctoral Students in Science and Engineering' organized by the National Research Foundation of Korea. This large-scale selection once again demonstrated JBNU's competitiveness as a key research hub in national infectious disease response and biotechnology research.

This program aims to cultivate future science and technology talent by providing outstanding doctoral students with opportunities to conduct independent research. Graduate students from the institute received high evaluations for proposing creative and practical research topics in national strategic research areas such as infectious diseases, viruses, and neurological disorders.

Da-eun Jeong, an integrated Master's‑Doctoral student (supervisor Jun-gu Kang), will conduct research on elucidating the immune mechanisms induced by the NP antigen of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV). The study is expected to contribute to identifying the key mechanisms that regulate host immune responses during SFTSV infection.

Agnes Park, a doctoral student, and Chan‑hee Lee, an integrated Master's‑Doctoral student (supervisor Jeong‑yoon Lee), are researching the advancement of adenovirus-based vaccine vector technology. Agnes Park proposed a strategy to maximize viral productivity by developing a customized E1 gene-expressing cell line. Chan‑hee Lee elucidated the biological function of the adenovirus E4orf1 gene, demonstrating the potential for qualitative improvement of next-generation vaccine platforms.

Also, Da-in Choi, a doctoral student (supervisor Byeong‑hun Jeong), attracted attention for research elucidating novel forms of cell death mechanisms, such as ferroptosis and cuproptosis, in prion diseases. This study is significant because it suggests the possibility of discovering new therapeutic targets beyond the limitations of existing neurodegenerative disease research.

With this selection, the institute's graduate students secured stable research funding and an autonomous research environment, laying the foundation to grow into the future core talents in infectious disease response, health security, and biotechnology.

Jun‑gu Kang, Director of Research and Development, said, "The fact that the students themselves secured national research projects will be a valuable experience for their development as independent researchers," adding, "The institute will continue to actively support young researchers so that they can exercise autonomy and creativity."

Meanwhile, the JBNU Institute for Zoonotic Infectious Diseases plans to use this achievement to further strengthen a graduate student‑centered autonomous research ecosystem and to continue playing a leading role as a key institution for research and talent development in infectious disease response and health security.