Professor Hak-Sung Kim from the Department of Biological Sciences has been awarded the esteemed 2023 Enzyme Engineering Award. This recognition is conferred every two years by the International Enzyme Engineering Conference. The award ceremony, with a lecture by the distinguished awardee, happened at the 27th conference held in Singapore from October 1 to 6.

Professor Kim’s groundbreaking research was featured in esteemed international journals, including Science, Nature Chemical Biology, Nature Communications, Angewandte Chemie, and Advanced Science. His research portfolio holds 60 registered patents, underlining his monumental contributions on the global stage. 

Enzymes, often referred to as "nature's catalysts," are a type of highly efficient and specific proteins that play a crucial role in maintaining various life processes within the human body. They are indispensable for processes such as gene replication, signal transduction, metabolism, and protein synthesis. Industrially, enzymes find application in the production of pharmaceuticals and precision/general chemical products. 

Professor Kim has received the award for his pioneering enzyme technology contributions, spanning biocatalyst design, enzyme engineering tools, enzyme dynamics, and metabolic engineering integration. He is known for uniting biocatalysis with synthetic chemistry, molecular biology, and pathway engineering, using methods like grafting to modify enzymes. Professor Kim improved enzyme engineering with molecular dynamics and directed evolution, developed tools like an antisense RNA-based screening system, and introduced the "repebody" scaffold for targeting disease-related proteins. Professor Kim's research explores the impact of protein dynamics on enzyme catalysis, with practical applications like relieving product inhibition in the shikimate pathway of Corynebacterium glutamicum. His work is significant for early-stage conformational dynamics studies in enzyme catalysis.

Upon receiving this remarkable recognition, Professor Kim expressed his gratitude, stating, "I am deeply honored to receive this prestigious award, which signifies the global acknowledgment of our laboratory's accomplishments. I extend my heartfelt appreciation to the graduates of my laboratory and the institutions that have generously supported our work. I remain committed to advancing the industrial applications of enzymes across diverse domains."

Professor Kim's accolade underscores his exceptional contributions to the realm of enzyme engineering and his dedication to advancing scientific research for practical applications. His work is poised to continue making a profound impact across various industries and within the broader scientific community.