▲ CI KIM Jae Kyoung

The Institute for Basic Science (IBS) in Daejeon, South Korea has announced that Professor Jae Kyung Kim of Department of Mathematical Sciences at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) is named as the Chief Investigator (CI) of the Biomedical Mathematics Group (BIMAG) of the IBS Pioneer Research Center (PRC) for Mathematical and Computational Sciences to investigate sleep mechanisms and treatment strategy for sleep disorders, beginning March 1st.

CI Kim is deemed as an exceptional researcher in mathematical biology and medicine, which are relatively unknown field in Korean science community. Mathematical biology and medicine study biological systems in a mathematical context and develop mathematical models to reveal disease mechanisms and developing their treatment strategies.

CI Kim is a rare mathematician who has published a number of biology papers, which have addressed several challenging problems in biology, in collaboration with biologists. Some of his achievements include i) building a microbial consortium to maintain stable rhythms^*, ii) cracking a 60-year old enigma, the mechanism for maintaining circadian period against temperature change^**. In collaboration with a pharmaceutical company Pfizer, his research team has revealed what makes a difference between animal studies and human clinical trials in a new drug test; and it has also identified the cause for personal differences in drug efficacy.**** Emergent genetic oscillations in a synthetic microbial consortium, Science (2015)
* Long-range temporal coordination of gene expression in spatially extended synthetic microbial consortia, Nature Chemical Biology (2019)
** A Period2 Phosphoswitch Regulates and Temperature Compensates Circadian Period, Molecular Cell (2015)
*** Systems approach reveals photosensitivity and PER2 level as determinants of clock?modulator efficacy, Molecular Systems Biology (2019)

The Biomedical Mathematics Group (BIMAG) intends to provide new solutions for sleep disorders, especially caused by the disruption of circadian period. Interconnecting mathematics, biology and medicine, Kim's research group is expected to boost synergetic effects from the collaborations among IBS centers in life science.

CI Kim says, "Sleep is an inevitable part of our daily routine, but little has been known about its mechanism." "The BIMAG will provide new insights into complex mechanisms of sleep in collaboration with biomedical experimentalists to discover the causes of sleep disorders and their treatment strategies," adds Kim.

IBS names eminent young scientists as CIs via as much of a thorough selection as it does for IBS directorship. IBS CIs lead independent research groups within their PRCs. Up to five CIs comprise a PRC, whose individual research group runs on KRW 1-5 billion funding.

Kim's group joining the IBS PRC system (that comprises the Pioneer Research Center for Biomolecular and Cellular Structure and the Pioneer Research Center for Mathematical and Computational Sciences) makes four CI research groups. IBS' expansion for young scientists brings IBS closer to its mission to foster next-generation leaders.

IBS President NOH Do Young comments, "Lying at the intersection of mathematics and biology, mathematical physics' history goes back over a thousand years. However, it has been just 10 years since the area began to be the interest of research in the Korean science community." "CI Kim's research group will become a key player to boost collaborations between mathematics and biology, advancing and addressing tricky issues in the mathematical biology," President Noh adds.