"From Physicians to Disease Researchers"... GIST Holds Second Half Graduation Ceremony

Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) announced on the 20th that it held the "2026 Second Half Graduation Ceremony" at the Oryongkwan Auditorium, conferring degrees to a total of 198 graduates, including 63 doctorate holders, 79 master’s degree recipients, and 56 bachelor’s degree holders.

GIST is holding the 2026 second half graduation ceremony at the Oryongkwan Auditorium at 11 a.m. on the 20th. Photo by GIST

With this ceremony, the number of science and technology professionals GIST has produced since its establishment in 1993 reaches a total of 9,364, comprising 2,228 PhDs, 5,480 master’s graduates, and 1,656 bachelor’s graduates.

This graduation ceremony was particularly notable for the stories of graduates who forged new paths based on their own questions and challenges—from a pediatric specialist with over 10 years of experience who pursued research to uncover the root causes of diseases, to undergraduates who achieved world-class research results and proceeded to overseas graduate schools, to entrepreneurs who transformed their research achievements into startups and technology commercialization.

Dr. Nguyen Trong Thanh from the Department of Biomedical Science and Engineering, drawing on his experience as a pediatric endocrinologist at Vietnam National Children's Hospital, studied skeletal muscle biology, aging, metabolism, and molecular medicine at GIST. Notably, his paper published in the international journal 'Experimental & Molecular Medicine' was recognized as a "Highly Cited Paper" (top 1% of citation count) by the Web of Science. Based on these achievements, he received the Excellence in Research Award at this graduation ceremony.

In addition, Dr. Nguyen contributed to establishing a financial business agreement between GIST and Vietnam National Children’s Hospital, further strengthening medical and research exchanges between the two institutions. Dr. Nguyen remarked, “As a pediatrician treating patients, I encountered clinical questions that were not easily answered on the spot, and these questions inspired me to pursue research. At GIST, I learned to expand these clinical inquiries into laboratory research to explore disease mechanisms, growing as a physician-scientist. Moving forward, I hope to connect medicine and science to ultimately create research that benefits patients and society.”

Including Dr. Nguyen, the 64 recipients of doctoral degrees collectively published a total of 278 papers in international journals indexed by the Science Citation Index (SCI) during their studies, with an average of 4.34 papers per person.

There were also graduates who achieved world-class research as undergraduates and went on to attend overseas graduate schools, as well as those who broadened their academic horizons and practiced sharing and giving back.

Jungun Cho, a graduate of the Department of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering, presented two first-author papers at 'ICLR 2026', considered one of the top international conferences in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and filed three related patents during his undergraduate studies. After graduation, he intends to pursue an integrated MS/PhD program at the University of Michigan in the United States. He also contributed to the development of his juniors by organizing study-abroad information sessions based on his own experience and supporting students preparing for overseas opportunities.

Another graduate from the same department, Choi Jeongeun, majored in Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering while minoring in both Physics & Photon Science and Materials Science and Engineering, thus strengthening her interdisciplinary capabilities. She also actively participated in various activities such as 'Fium', the GIST student social contribution group, and the 'Freshman Buddy Program' that supports new international students in adapting to campus life, thereby embodying the spirit of sharing and volunteerism.

Dr. Lee Sungha from the Department of AI was awarded the GIST Development Foundation Chairman's Award for connecting her research achievements to entrepreneurship and technology commercialization. During her studies, Dr. Lee participated in a variety of GIST startup support programs to foster her entrepreneurial skills and went on to found Altru, an AI-based startup, in 2024. Through industry-academic research collaborations, she developed an “Automatic Spectator System” using AI to analyze esports matches in real time and automatically select broadcast screens. She also established a solid foundation for technology commercialization, registering two domestic patents and one US patent.

At the ceremony, Chairman Choi Eunmo of the GIST Development Foundation and Jeong Cheolwoong, Head of ADC Research Center at Rigachem Bio, delivered congratulatory speeches to mark the graduates’ new beginnings.

Jeong Cheolwoong, who holds both master's and doctoral degrees from the Department of Life Sciences at GIST and currently leads R&D in global novel drug development, said, “Science and technology with warmth and a sense of social responsibility is the greatest strength we can have in the AI era,” and encouraged junior graduates to pursue research that benefits more people. Last January, Jeong donated 50 million won each to GIST's Department of Life Sciences and Department of Chemistry — a total of 100 million won — to support the next generation of researchers.

President Kim Ki-chul, in his commencement speech, asked the graduates to use the power of asking “good questions”—a value learned during their time at GIST—to continuously inquire about what constitutes a true problem and discover their own answers to help build a better future for society and humanity.

President Kim emphasized, “Innovation does not begin with creating new technologies, but with discovering new questions, and good questions come from a deep understanding and empathy for people and society.” He also highlighted the importance of responsibility and values in determining the direction of science and technology.

Meanwhile, in alignment with President Kim’s vision for the “role of universities during the revolution in AI civilization,” GIST is innovating its education and research system and strengthening research capacity in future strategic fields. In particular, following the launch of the “Quantum Transformation Research Center” (led by Kim Yusu) in chemistry and the “Relativistic Laser Science Research Center” (led by Kim Kyungtaek) in physics in 2024, the “Microbiome-Body-Brain Physiology Research Center” (led by Suh Seongbae) will be launched in life sciences in 2025. With these developments, GIST now operates three IBS (Institute for Basic Science) campus research centers, further solidifying its foundation in basic science research across chemistry, physics, and life sciences.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.