The Suh Kyungbae Foundation (Chairman Suh Kyungbae) has selected four early-career investigators for its 2026 grant program.
The Suh Kyungbae Foundation is a public interest foundation established in 2016 by Amorepacific Group Chairman Suh Kyungbae with an endowment of KRW 300 billion from his personal assets. Guided by the philosophy of 'There is an infinite sky beyond the visible one' (天外有天), the foundation discovers and supports promising young investigators in the life sciences each year.
Marking its 10th anniversary this year, the foundation has provided grants to 35 early-career life scientists to date, with cumulative research funding reaching KRW 86.7 billion. Under the three-stage ABC (Adventure-Breakthrough-Cherished) support system introduced in 2026, the foundation will provide each selected young investigator with KRW 900 million in research grants over an initial three-year period. Depending on research progress, additional support of KRW 1.6 billion will be provided over the subsequent four years, and upon sustained excellence, further funding of KRW 2.5 billion will be awarded over an additional five-year period.
The four young investigators selected for 2026 are: ▲ Professor Jeongtae Kwon (Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, KAIST), who proposed "How Does the Brain Distinguish Imagination from Reality? Principles of Reality-Tagging Circuitry Through Cortical Laminar Gating"; ▲ Professor Su Myung Jung (Department of Biological Sciences, Sungkyunkwan University), who proposed "Identifying Maladaptive Phenotypes of Brown Adipose Tissue in Non-Cold Physiological Environments"; ▲ Professor Hyunsoo Cho (College of Medicine, Seoul National University), who proposed "The Moment Memory Becomes Destiny: Principles Underlying the Formation and Fixation of Pathological Innate Immune Memory in Hyperinflammation"; and ▲ Professor Seungwon Choi (Department of Psychiatry, UT Southwestern Medical Center), who proposed "When and How Does the Body Begin to Sense the External Environment: Mechanisms of Somatosensory Neural Circuit Development."
▲ Professor Jeongtae Kwon investigates the mechanisms distinguishing imagination from reality within the complex mammalian brain. By designing experimental setups where animals either perceive actual sounds or imagine them, his team monitors the underlying neural activity using advanced imaging technologies. This research aims to illuminate the fundamental principles of complex cognitive functions while offering insights for treating psychiatric disorders such as hallucinations and schizophrenia.
▲ Professor Su Myung Jung investigates functional alterations in brown adipose tissue at room temperature. For brown fat, which generates heat in response to cold, room temperature represents an unfamiliar environment where its primary thermogenic function is unneeded. His research examines how brown fat malfunctions under these conditions, offering new perspectives on how modern living environments with widespread climate control impact human metabolic health.
▲ Professor Hyunsoo Cho studies how pathological hyperinflammation leaves lasting alterations in hematopoietic progenitor cells, driving the immune system into disease states. His team seeks to identify the tipping point where transient inflammation becomes irreversible, analyzing bone marrow from lymphoma patients with hyperinflammation to delineate how hematopoietic and immune cells transform, with the goal of restoring pathological immune states back to normal health.
▲ Professor Seungwon Choi investigates how somatosensory neural circuits develop during embryonic and postnatal stages. Utilizing advanced anatomical and electrophysiological techniques, he examines the mechanisms governing normal circuit assembly. This research aims to uncover previously unknown developmental processes of sensory circuits and explore the link between altered touch sensation and autism, seeking potential causes and therapeutic avenues.
The Suh Kyungbae Foundation will also host the SUHF Symposium 2026 on August 29 at the Amorepacific Global Headquarters. Commemorating the 10th anniversary of the foundation's establishment, the symposium will be held under the theme of "Resonant Patterns of Life." The event will feature a keynote address by Professor Michael Hall of the University of Basel, a special lecture by Professor Jeong Ho Lee (KAIST Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering / CSO of SoVarGen), a Young Investigator from the foundation's first cohort, along with graduate panel discussions, poster sessions, and final research presentations.