- Awarded excellence in Life and Marine Sciences for establishing the technological foundation for Korean mRNA vaccine development

- Achieved medical sovereignty by developing proprietary mRNA technology, essential for personalized cancer vaccines and various disease treatments

△ Professor Nam Jae-hwan and his team from the Department of Biomedical Sciences

 Professor Nam Jae-hwan and his team from the Department of Biomedical Sciences at The Catholic University of Korea have been recognized for their domestic mRNA vaccine technology development in the 2024 Top 100 National R&D Achievements, an annual program hosted by the Ministry of Science and ICT.

 Now in its 19th year, the 'Top 100 National R&D Achievements' is a government-wide initiative that annually recognizes and announces 100 carefully selected research achievements with high societal impact. This year, 100 achievements were selected from 869 nominations submitted by various government agencies. 

 Professor Nam’s team was honored in the Life and Marine Sciences category for laying the groundwork for domestic mRNA vaccine development. They successfully developed key components of mRNA vaccines, including expression systems and delivery mechanisms. Using these technologies, the team created Korea’s first domestically developed mRNA vaccines, including a preventive vaccine for Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (SFTS) and a therapeutic vaccine for cervical cancer. These achievements have firmly established Korea’s capability to develop both preventive and therapeutic mRNA vaccines. 

 The team’s research also demonstrated that mRNA vaccines can be customized to create personalized cancer vaccines tailored to individual patients. Additionally, the technology has potential applications in advanced fields such as gene editing and immune cell therapies like CAR-T. Professor Nam's team expects that this mRNA technology will significantly contribute to future medical advancements as an innovative platform capable of preventing and treating various diseases. 

 Professor Nam highlighted the transformative potential of this technology, stating, “The development of mRNA vaccine technology is a groundbreaking step that enhances Korea’s medical sovereignty and economic independence. With applications ranging from personalized cancer vaccines to treatments for various diseases, this technology positions Korea to take a leading role in the future of the pharmaceutical industry.”