From June 25 to 27, the “52nd Annual Conference and International Symposium of the Korean Society of Microbiology and Biotechnology” was held at BEXCO in Busan. At the event, Jeong Ji-yoon (Master's program, Department of Food and Nutrition, Kookmin University), Kim Min-kyung (Master's program, Kookmin University), Yoon Hyun-ji (Master's Program, 2025) (all advised by Professor Jang Yoon-ji) received the Outstanding Poster Presentation Award and the Encouragement Poster Presentation Award, respectively.

The conference, themed “Technologies Leading Future Innovation Through the Convergence of Academia and Industry,” featured a total of 38 academic sessions. It is a leading domestic microbiology research society addressing the latest research topics in the field of microbiology and biotechnology, including synthetic biology, microbiome, greenhouse gas reduction technology, and microplastic biodegradation technology.

Jeong Ji-yoon, a student from Kookmin University, conducted research titled “Innovative pectin film for sustainable antibacterial food packaging utilizing phage control” aimed at regulating the release of bacteriophages in food packaging, and achieved the honor of winning the Outstanding Poster Award.

Kim Min-kyung conducted research titled “[Phage-based powder formulation effectively controls Pseudomonas tolaasii-induced brown blotch in mushrooms]” aimed at developing a bacteriophage-based powder formulation to control Pseudomonas tolaasii, the pathogen causing bacterial brown spot disease in mushrooms, and achieved the honor of receiving the Poster Presentation Encouragement Award.

Yoon Hyun-ji conducted research titled “[Multifunctional hydrogel beads integrating bacteriophage and prebiotics for targeted control of multidrug resistance Klebsiella pneumoniae]” with the goal of producing multifunctional hydrogel beads containing bacteriophages and prebiotics to control multidrug-resistant strains, and was awarded the Poster Presentation Encouragement Award.