Kim Eun Ji, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Food and Nutrition(Professor Oh Se Wook) at Kookmin University (President Jeong Seung Ryul), has been selected as the inaugural Presidential Graduate Science Scholar. 

The Graduate Presidential Science Scholarship Program was established by the Ministry of Science and ICT to inspire the pride of science and engineering talents and support their growth into world-class researchers. This year, 120 graduate students were selected as the first batch of Presidential Graduate Science Scholars, with 2,980 applicants applying for the program, resulting in a 25:1 competition ratio. The recipients of the Presidential Graduate Science Scholarship will receive a monthly stipend of 2 million won for up to eight semesters for doctoral programs.

Kim Eun Ji is conducting research on “Characterization, detection, and killing methods of food poisoning bacteria and food poisoning biofilms,” and has published a total of six papers in SCI-ranked journals as lead author. She was also selected as a “Kookmin* Star Research Talent,” a scholarship program run by Kookmin University's Graduate School of General Studies. “Kookmin* Star Research Talent” is a program that supports outstanding researchers by selecting one Ph.D. student each academic year with high research performance (*at least two SCI/SCIE/SSCI first authors or three SCI/SCIE/SSCI first authors within the top 10% of the impact factor). Students selected as Kookmin* Star Research Talent are provided with support benefits such as student scholarships (full tuition), academic incentives (300,000 won per semester), overseas research, and priority recruitment of young researchers. 

“With the guidance and support of my advisor, I was able to achieve good results by doing my research step by step with the mindset that I can do anything,” said PhD student Kim Eun Ji . “I want to become a researcher who will continue to grow without losing my current mindset.”