Doosan Yonkang Foundation (Chairman Yong Hyun Park) announced on July 21 that it presented the 2019 Doosan Yonkang Academic Award for best medical paper to Hyun Yong Koh, a researcher at the Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). The winner also received 30 million won (about $25,000) and a plaque.

The paper that won Koh the award was, “BRAF somatic mutation contributes to intrinsic epileptogenicity in pediatric brain tumors,” which was published in Nature Medicine, an international scientific journal.

This study provides direct evidence, for the first time in the world, that a BRAF somatic mutation V600E arising in progenitor cells during brain development contributes to intrinsic epileptogenicity (epileptic seizure), a common complication of pediatric brain tumors.

“It is meaningful that a group of researchers in Korea was the first to find the major cause of intrinsic epileptogenicity in pediatric brain tumors,” said Koh, the lead author of the paper. “We will use this opportunity to further advance our research and contribute to the development of medical science.”

The Doosan Yonkang Academic Award for medical articles was established in 2006 with an aim to contribute to medical research in Korea and motivate young medical researchers. This year, a total of 94 papers have been submitted.

Doosan Yonkang Foundation Chairman Yong Hyun Park (right), together with researcher Hyun Yong Koh (middle) and Wang Jun Lee, publisher of the Young Doctor newspaper, pose for a photo at the Doosan Yonkang Academic Award ceremony for best medical paper, held at Lotte Hotel Seoul, Sogong-dong, on July 19.