IBS. Institute for Basic Science

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기초과학연구원(IBS, Institute for Basic Science) Institute for Basic Science(IBS) Official Facebook

Making Discoveries for Humanity & Society
IBS pursues exellence in basic science research.

We cordially invite you to attend an open symposium hosted by the IBS Center for Genomic Integrity (Director: MYUNG Kyungjae), highlighting its major achievements over the past six years.

This symposium will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on February 2, 2026, at UNIST(Building 103, Room 113) in Ulsan.

https://www.ibs.re.kr/cop/bbs/BBSMSTR_000000000739/selectBoardArticle.do?nttId=26481

The Institute for Basic Science (IBS) held its 2026 New Year’s Ceremony on January 5 (Monday) at the IBS headquarters in Daejeon. At the event, Acting President KIM Yeongduk (Director of the Center for Underground Physics) delivered a New Year’s address, reflecting on the achievements of the past year and presenting key priorities for IBS in 2026 as it enters a period of transition.

https://www.ibs.re.kr/cop/bbs/BBSMSTR_000000000739/selectBoardArticle.do?nttId=26484

The Institute for Basic Science (IBS) held a farewell ceremony for its 3rd President, NOH Do Young, on November 20, 2025. The event marked the 14th anniversary of IBS’s founding and was organized to reflect on President Noh’s achievements during his tenure and to express gratitude for his dedication and leadership.

https://www.ibs.re.kr/cop/bbs/BBSMSTR_000000000739/selectBoardArticle.do?nttId=26478

Why does cancer sometimes recur after chemotherapy? Why do some bacteria survive antibiotic treatment? In many cases, the answer appears to lie not in genetic differences, but in biological noise — random fluctuations in molecular activity that occur even among genetically identical cells.

Biological systems are inherently noisy, as molecules inside living cells are produced, degraded, and interact through fundamentally random processes. Understanding how biological systems cope with such fluctuations — and how they might be controlled — has been a long-standing challenge in systems and synthetic biology.

Although modern biology can regulate the average behavior of a cell population, controlling the unpredictable fluctuations of individual cells has remained a major challenge. These rare “outlier” cells, driven by stochastic variation, can behave differently from the majority and influence system-level outcomes.

This longstanding problem has been answered by a joint research team led by Professor KIM Jae Kyoung (KAIST, IBS Biomedical Mathematics Group), KIM Jinsu (POSTECH), and Professor CHO Byung-Kwan (KAIST), which has developed a novel mathematical framework called the “Noise Controller” (NC). This achievement establishes a level of single-cell precision control previously thought impossible, and it is expected to provide a key breakthrough for longstanding challenges in cancer therapy and synthetic biology.

https://www.ibs.re.kr/cop/bbs/BBSMSTR_000000000738/selectBoardArticle.do?nttId=26476

The Institute for Basic Science (IBS) has appointed Professor KIM Kihwan , a world-leading scholar in quantum information science and a professor in the Department of Physics at Tsinghua University, as Director of the Center for Trapped Ion Quantum Science. The center, located at the IBS headquarters in Daejeon, officially launched on December 29 and has begun research activities. Professor Kim resigned from his tenured position at Tsinghua University to devote himself fully to his role at IBS, while continuing research collaboration as a visiting professor at Tsinghua.

https://www.ibs.re.kr/cop/bbs/BBSMSTR_000000000739/selectBoardArticle.do?nttId=26475

The Institute for Basic Science (IBS) has strengthened its strategy for attracting and utilizing outstanding global talent by co-hosting a meeting in Europe with the Association of Korean Scientists and Engineers in Germany (VeKNI). IBS also announced plans to expand research collaboration and jointly host academic events with the Max Planck Society (MPG).

https://www.ibs.re.kr/cop/bbs/BBSMSTR_000000000739/selectBoardArticle.do?nttId=26474

KOO Bon-Kyoung, Director of the Center for Genome Engineering within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), has received the 2025 Ministerial Commendation from the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) for contributions to research cooperation under Horizon Europe.

https://www.ibs.re.kr/cop/bbs/BBSMSTR_000000000739/selectBoardArticle.do?nttId=26473

Gastric (stomach) cancer remains one of the most common and deadly cancers in East Asia, including Korea. Yet despite its high prevalence, it has received far less molecular attention than colorectal cancer, which is more common in Western countries. As a result, many of today’s models of gastric cancer biology are still based on assumptions borrowed from colorectal cancer research — often with limited success when applied to patients.

One of the biggest unanswered questions has concerned the very first steps of gastric cancer development: how do early cancer cells survive and grow when they should not?

Under normal conditions, cells lining the stomach cannot grow independently. They rely on constant signals from their surrounding tissue — known as the microenvironment — to tell them when to divide, when to rest, and when to die. Losing this dependence is one of the defining features of cancer. But in gastric cancer, researchers have long struggled to explain how this transition occurs.

This problem has been tackled by a joint international research team led by Dr. LEE Ji-Hyun, Dr. KOO Bon-Kyoung, and Dr. LEE Heetak at the Center for Genome Engineering within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), in partnership with the laboratories of Prof. CHEONG Jae-Ho and Prof. KIM Hyunki (Yonsei University College of Medicine) and Prof. Daniel E. STANGE (TU Dresden / University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus). The team has identified a previously unknown mechanism that allows early gastric cancer cells to become self-sufficient. The findings provide a new framework for understanding how stomach cancer begins — and point to potential new targets for treatment.

https://www.ibs.re.kr/cop/bbs/BBSMSTR_000000000738/selectBoardArticle.do?nttId=26456

A research team at the Center for Neuroscience Imaging Research (CNIR) within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), together with Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), has developed a new class of ultra-thin, flexible bioelectronic material that can seamlessly interface with living tissues. The researchers introduced a novel device called THIN (Transformable and Imperceptible Hydrogel-Elastomer Ionic-Electronic Nanomembrane). THIN is a membrane just 350 nanometers thick that transforms from a dry, rigid film into an ultra-soft, tissue-like interface upon hydration.

https://www.ibs.re.kr/cop/bbs/BBSMSTR_000000000738/selectBoardArticle.do?nttId=26440

The Institute for Basic Science will host the “IBS Conference” featuring leading domestic and international experts in virology and immunology.

https://www.ibs.re.kr/cop/bbs/BBSMSTR_000000000739/selectBoardArticle.do?nttId=26444

Dr. WON Woojin is a senior research fellow at the IBS Center for Memory and Glioscience, where he focuses on uncovering the fundamental mechanisms of brain disorders. His work spans neuroscience, neuronal function, and — most notably — the role of astrocytes, a major class of non-neuronal glial cells. By investigating how astrocytes contribute to the onset and progression of neurological diseases, he aims to develop new therapeutic strategies and candidate drugs grounded in basic science.

https://www.ibs.re.kr/cop/bbs/BBSMSTR_000000000740/selectBoardArticle.do?nttId=26436