UST student wins top prize for DNA nano-drug that targets only cancer cells

"To prevent casualties like those caused by the Seosomun overpass collapse, we urgently need advanced technology that can conduct precise safety inspections in areas difficult for people to access," said Nam Gi-rim, an integrated-course student at the KRISS School, in a research proposal submitted to the competition.

The University of Science and Technology (UST) held its 2026 UST Proposal Challenge, a practical education program designed to strengthen students' research capabilities and help them develop their ideas into formal research proposals.

The UST Proposal Challenge is a signature practical research education program in which students complete a series of training modules covering the competencies expected of early-career researchers, then develop their own research ideas and present them as written proposals.

The program allows students to sharpen their research planning and academic communication skills while also building cross-school research networks through divisional preliminary rounds and an integrated final round.

This year's competition featured three categories: commercialization and startup-linked research, which connects R&D outcomes to technology commercialization and entrepreneurship; industry problem-solving research, aimed at resolving real-world challenges in corporate settings and strengthening industrial competitiveness; and open research, open to any topic without restriction.

Students submitted proposals that translated their original ideas into concrete research plans based on their respective fields of study. Twenty-eight students were selected through a document screening to compete in the final round. Ten winners were named in total — one grand prize, three excellence prizes and six merit prizes.

The grand prize in the open research category went to Kim Seong-a, a doctoral student at the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB) School. Kim earned the top score from the judges for proposing a next-generation DNA nano-drug platform designed to selectively destroy cancer cells while leaving healthy cells unharmed.

Three students received the excellence prize. Nam Gi-rim, an integrated-course student at the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) School, proposed a next-generation drone ultrasonic inspection technology in the industry problem-solving research category — a system combining drones and AI to accurately detect defects in industrial structures without contact agents such as water or gel. Kim Seong-wan, a doctoral student at the KRIBB School, proposed research to identify the key mechanisms by which a deficiency of a specific protein, LBR, drives muscle loss and accelerated aging. Elang Ganiwijaya, a doctoral student at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) School, proposed the development of a new cathode material that significantly improves the performance and capacity of next-generation sodium-ion batteries as a replacement for conventional lithium-based cells.

Six students received merit prizes, including Han Jun-gyu, an integrated-course student at the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT) School, who proposed the development of an AI agent-based intelligent road infrastructure monitoring platform in the commercialization and startup-linked research category.

UST President Kang Dae-im said the competition confirmed students' potential to grow into researchers capable of breakthrough innovation. "A large number of highly developed research ideas spanning cutting-edge R&D fields — including cancer treatment, AI diagnostics and aging — were proposed, demonstrating the students' potential to grow into researchers who can achieve transformative results," Kang said. "UST will continue to strengthen its education so that students can directly experience the entire process from research planning to presentation, and grow into science and technology talent capable of solving society's most pressing challenges and creating new value — drawing on the strengths of a national research laboratory university."