Professor Kong Young-Yun discovered the link between sex hormones and muscle in 2016. He published his findings in Nature Cell Biology, a world-renowned scientific journal, showing that sex hormones, which increase during puberty, create 'adult muscle stem cells' and how these stem cells are maintained throughout life and help regenerate muscle.
By showing that sex hormones activate a signal called Notch to create adult muscle stem cells, the researchers discovered a long-unexplained link between sex hormones and muscle.
Since 2000, he has been studying how Notch signaling during development creates cells with different functions, and has shown that abnormalities in Notch signaling cause microencephaly, leukemia, nephrotic diabetes insipidus, colon cancer, and more.
Many of his research papers have influenced many scholars in related fields and have made significant contributions to the advancement of basic biomedical sciences, making him the Excellence Award Laureate of the 13th Mystery of Life Awards.
Zaona School is an urban alternative school for school dropout girls founded in 2014 by the Missionary Sisters of Immaculate Conception.
The school provides housing and educational space for 13 to 20-year-old school dropout girls who have interrupted their studies due to pregnancy to help them become self-reliant by studying and raising their babies after giving birth without abortion. In addition, the organization supports the “Zaona House” housing for graduates for one year after graduation to support their complete independence.
Through personalized career planning, 13 out of 15 girls passed the high school equivalency exam, and three were accepted into nursing, childcare, and cosmetology programs at universities and continuing education institutes.
The organization is expected to show more activities to promote the culture of respect for life not only in other single-mother facilities but also in modern society. It was selected as the 13th Mystery of Life Awards Activities Achievement Award winner.
Prof. Lee Joo-Hyeon is a leading researcher in the field of epithelial stem cells in the lungs at the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, UK.
She is the corresponding author of the 2017 Cell article “Identifying multidimensional lung adult stem cells that contribute to repairing the injured lung” and “Investigating the signaling mechanisms of how repair signals are transmitted within the cell.
The Wellcome Trust and the European Research Council (ERC) awarded her a Sir Henry Dale Fellowship and an ERC Starting Grant, respectively, placing her among the top 5% of European outstanding scientists.
She was selected as the winner of the 13th Mystery of Life Encouragement Award for Life Sciences because her basic research on lung adult stem cells is expected to enhance the potential for future regenerative medicine applications and contribute to solving lung disease problems.
