Choi Eun-Young, Associate Professor of Surgery and Cell and Developmental Biology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, has received the Young Investigator Award in Basic Science from the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA), the institution announced on April 21.
The award honors Choi’s identification of precancerous gastric stem cells that contribute to the onset of gastric cancer, as well as her discovery of new drug candidates that may inhibit these cells. Her findings have opened the door to early detection and new treatment approaches.
AGA’s annual recognition of early-career researchers
Each year, the AGA selects one early-career researcher in both the basic science and clinical science fields to receive the Young Investigator Award. Eligible recipients must be within seven years of their faculty appointment.
Choi Eun-Young is also actively involved as an abstract reviewer and committee member for the AGA’s Molecular and Cellular Gastroenterology Section.
Academic background and previous awards
Choi earned her bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology from Seoul Women’s University and completed both her master’s and doctoral degrees in Reproductive Biology at the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST).
She has previously been honored with the NIH/NCI MERIT Award, the Robert & Sally Funderburg Research Award in Gastric Cancer, and the Stanley Cohen Innovation Fund Award at Vanderbilt University.
This recognition may contribute to increased interest in early gastric cancer detection and the development of personalized treatments.
BY KYEONGJUN KIM [kim.kyeongjun1@koreadaily.com]
