The Korea Brain Research Institute (KBRI) said it held the inauguration ceremony for its fifth president, Lee Seung-bok, at the main auditorium of its headquarters in Daegu on Tuesday morning.
Lee, the new president, is a leading authority in brain science. As a professor at Seoul National University, he has achieved world-class results in basic brain science research, including nervous system development and synaptic plasticity. He also participated in national research and development policy-making, serving as an advisory and deliberation committee member of the Presidential Advisory Council on Science and Technology, co-head of the Research System Innovation Planning Group at the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT), and a board member of the Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies.
"I will create an innovative research ecosystem that carries out national missions based on creative fundamental research," Lee said in his inaugural address. To this end, he plans to establish a full-cycle brain research system spanning basic and original research to commercialization, build a convergence hub that brings together domestic and international brain research capabilities, and advance the utilization of brain research infrastructure.
Lee also plans to foster an open innovation ecosystem, drawing on his experience as the 35th president of the Korean Society for Molecular and Cellular Biology (KSMCB), the nation's largest life science society with approximately 20,000 members, and his extensive academic network.