POSTECH: Professor Sung Key Jang Appointed as New CEO of Institut Pasteur Korea

Professor Sung Key Jang from the Department of Life Sciences at POSTECH was named the new CEO of Institut Pasteur Korea on February 1. He will serve a three-year term.

Professor Jang earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in zoology from Seoul National University and his Ph.D. in molecular genetics and microbiology from the State University of New York. He has been at the POSTECH since 1991, where he has taught students, and served as a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of Institut Pasteur Korea, advising on drug discovery research and technology.

The professor, a distinguished scholar in life sciences, has undertaken drug discovery research based on hepatitis C virus findings. His contributions extend to therapeutic and diagnostic research where he has played a role in advancing aptamer technology, a novel alternative to antibodies, for the diagnosis of COVID-19.

During the inauguration ceremony, Professor Jang expressed his vision by stating, “We are committed to expanding our research and development capabilities in infectious disease vaccines and diagnostics. Additionally, we aim to advance our drug development technologies to establish ourselves as a world-class infectious disease research institute.”

In the broader context, Institut Pasteur Korea, founded in 2004, is a non-profit research organization forged through the collaborative efforts in bioscience between Korea and France.