Cholsoon Jang, PhD, Receives 9th Hansung Science Award

Cholsoon Jang, PhD, attended a ceremony in South Korea on Aug. 15, 2026, where he was honored as one of three recipients (for physics, chemistry and life sciences) of the 9th Hansung Science Award for his novel work on metabolic diseases.

The award, established in 2018 by the Hansung Son Jae-han Scholarship Foundation, celebrates young scientists conducting original research with strong potential for future development.

“It was a delightful surprise when I got a phone call from the foundation saying someone had nominated me and I had been chosen by the selection committee, composed of highly recognizable scientists,” says Jang, an associate professor of biological chemistry at the UC Irvine School of Medicine. “This award means a lot to me.”

Jang, who leads the Nutrient Metabolism & Disease Lab, was recognized in the life sciences category as “a researcher who has demonstrated the potential for reversible therapies that restore metabolic diseases to their original state.”

The committee praised his research for elucidating the integrated network of diet, gut microbiota and organ metabolism.

“My lab is interested in understanding how vastly different organs and gut microbiota cooperate to process dietary nutrients, and how diseases occur when these sophisticated processes go awry,” says Jang. “Rather than focusing on one organ at a time, we look at the organ network as a whole system and investigate that system in a comprehensive and unbiased way.”

Although this comprehensive approach requires more time and resources, Jang says it allows his team to find things previously missed.

For example, a study led by Dr. Sunhee Jung, a postdoctoral fellow in Jang’s lab, identified a beneficial effect of dietary fiber inulin intake, noting it can reverse fructose-induced fatty liver disease.

“We discovered that inulin, a polymer of fructose, can educate the gut microbiome to degrade the fructose monomer abundant in sugar and high-fructose corn syrup,” says Jang. “Even in mice that had already developed fatty liver disease after drinking soda for a long time, adding inulin to their diet restored liver health by reprogramming bodily fructose metabolism.”

Jang looks forward to working with researchers in his lab to evaluate the effects and mechanisms of other abundant dietary fibers as well.

“This award was only possible because of my lab members’ hard work and teamwork, and I could not be prouder,” he says. “I would also like to thank my loving family, highly supportive colleagues and leadership at UC Irvine, mentors, and finally, my late wife, Dr. Gina Lee, with God’s protection and blessing.”

Winners of the Hansung Science Award receive a plaque and prize money of 100 million won (approximately $70,000 USD). By recognizing and supporting young Korean scientists, the award seeks to create a stepping stone for the emergence of future Nobel laureates in science from South Korea.

— Shani Murray