학회소개 
| 한국분자·세포생물학회 학술상 생명과학상 수상자 | |
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윤대진 ( 건국대학교) Professor Dae-Jin Yun received his Ph.D. degree in Plant Biochemistry from Kyoto University in 1994. Following his postdoctoral fellowship at Purdue University, he accepted a position as professor at Gyeongsang National University in 1998. Since 2017, he has been a Professor in the Department of Biomedical Science & Engineering at Konkuk University. In the past 23 years, Professor Yun has devoted his life to the study of “stress response and tolerant mechanism in plants” and is recognized as one of the world’s most influential researchers in the field of plant science (H-index of 58). Highlights and exceptional contributions to his field include the identification of key stress signaling proteins and the discovery of epigenetic control of cold and drought tolerance in plants. Furthermore, he has recently uncovered a missing link between flowering and stress adaptation, another important discovery in this research area. Additionally, Prof. Yun has organized a global research consortium and reported in Nature Genetics regarding the genome sequence of Thellungiella pavula, a close relative of Arabidopsis that shows extreme stress tolerance. He has published multiple papers in Nature Genetics, Molecular Cell, Nature Communications, Molecular Plant, PNAS, and more, amounting to a total of 228 publications. He was also an invited speaker of the Gordon Research Conference, Keystone Symposia, Max Planck Institute, UC Berkeley and other world-renowned universities and research institutions, amassing a total of 71 speaking events. Prof. Yun has consistently worked towards improving the field of plant science in Korea through his involvement in multiple programs. He has held director positions at World Class University (WCU) program, Brain Korea (BK) 21 program, and Global Research Lab (GRL). Currently, he is the President of the Korean Society of Plant Biologists. He is also the recipient of multiple awards, including best research award from Korean Society of Plant Biologists, best academic award from Korean Society of Plant Biotechnology, best research paper award from Korean Federation of Science & Technology, Macrogen scientist award from Korean Society for Molecular and Cellar Biology, and Cargill life science award from Korean Academy of Science and Technology. Supported by his achievements, Professor Yun was selected as a member of the Korean Academy of Science & Technology in 2012. Representative papers |
| 한국분자·세포생물학회 학술상 Molecules and Cells (M&C) 우수논문상 수상자 | |
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황은성 (서울시립대학교)
Modulation of Mitochondrial Membrane Potential and ROS Generation by Nicotinamide in a Manner Independent of SIRT1 and Mitophagy (2017). Mol. Cells 40, 503-514. Prolonged increase in cellular NAD+ level causes an elevation of the activity of SIRT1, which promotes healthy aging through positively regulating various physiological activities. In a series of studies from 2006, we found that the amount of free radicals produced from mitochondria substantially decreases and cellular replicative life span expands in cells treated by nicotinamide (NAM), a precursor of NAD+. This change was found to an outcome of multiple effects of NAM administration. First, mitochondria-targeted autophagy (mitophagy), which is driven by the activation of SIRT1, helps removal of damaged mitochondria. Second, increased cellular NAD+ level also augments mitochondrial NAD+/NADH ratio and causes lower level oxygen consumption (OC) and thereby reduces mitochondrial superoxide generation. Third, mitochondrial membrane potential is elevated by NAM treatment. Which was rather puzzling since the lower level OC suggests the contrary, but, soon was found to be attributed to activation of SIRT3, which is another sirtuin family protein activated by NAD+, which functions to close the mitochondrial permeability transition pores (MPTP) and thereby prevent the drop of membrane potential. These together suggest that reduction in mitochondrial ROS generation and improvement of mitochondrial quality are made possible by increasing cellular NAD+ level. As the generation of free radicals from mitochondria is the most important culprit of aging and related functional decay, our results shed light on a possible intervention of aging through simple metabolic intervention. |