KIM V. Narry, Director of the Center for RNA Research within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS, President NOH Do-Young), was selected as a foreign member of The Royal Society in the UK. The professor is the first Korean to join this prestigious society.

The Royal Society is an academic organization created by British intellectuals in 1660. It is recognized as the world's greatest academic society along with the National Academy of Sciences in the United States.

As the world's most prestigious academic organization, The Royal Society advances humanity’s knowledge of science, nature, and philosophy. It leads the national scientific research initiatives and policy and functions as the center of international natural science research.

The Royal Society elects no more than 62 members each year, with only 10 of them being non-British, after a rigorous screening process based on the individual’s contribution to the improvement of scientific knowledge. Famous scientists who changed history, including Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, and Albert Einstein, have been selected as members. The society has produced more than 280 Nobel Laureates to date. Because of the Society’s strong tradition and authority, becoming a member is regarded as one of the highest honors that a scientist can receive.

Professor Kim was appointed as the Director of the IBS RNA Research Center in 2012. She specialises in researching RNA and gene regulation. Some of her ground-breaking discoveries include the mixed tail, which prevents the degradation of messenger RNA (2018, Science) and analyzing the RNA transcript of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 for the first time (2020, Cell). As a result, she is a world-renowned scholar in the field of RNA research.

The professor’s academic achievements have received widespread recognition at home and abroad. Some of these include South Korean government designating her as a National Scientist of South Korea in 2010, a foreign member of the European Molecular Biology Organization in 2013, a foreign member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2014, and a member of the Korean Academy of Science and Technology in 2014.

To date, professor Kim is the only Korean member of the National Academy of Sciences and the Royal Society.

IBS Communications Team
William I. Suh