Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
한국과학기술원

South Korea

KAIST has connotations of academic excellence, innovation and entrepreneurship, but also the launch of large-scale projects. The university often ranks highly among other universities of a similar age.

KAIST was established in February 1971 as Korea Advanced Institute of Science, with a loan given by United States Agency for International Development. The university aimed not only to educate young researchers in science and engineering, but also to provide a solid basis for the development of future higher education institutions in Korea.

Its structure was created by an international team, which included the American electrical engineer and vice-president of Stanford University Frederick Emmons Terman. Unlike other public institutions in South Korea, KAIST has freedom to decide upon its entry requirements and course structure, which gives the university a special status.

Today, KAIST has a rich academic portfolio in disciplines such as physics, mathematics, engineering, humanities and social sciences, business and management. The courses are delivered by 5 colleges and 6 schools, with over 33 divisions. KAIST's unique institutes include the National NanoFab Center, which conducts research into nano-devices and their potential applications.

KAIST consists of 2 major campuses situated in Daejeon and South Korea's capital Seoul. They offer over 25 dormitories, 4 libraries and a medical centre. To ensure students are actively engaged in the campus cultural events, the university organises traditional opera and jazz recitals.

1 July 2018 - 30 June 2019

Region: Global
Subject/journal group: All

The table to the right includes counts of all research outputs for Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) published between 1 July 2018 - 30 June 2019 which are tracked by the Nature Index.

Hover over the donut graph to view the FC output for each subject. Below, the same research outputs are grouped by subject. Click on the subject to drill-down into a list of articles organized by journal, and then by title.

Note: Articles may be assigned to more than one subject area.

AC	FC
337	164.69

Outputs by subject (FC)

Subject	AC	FC
Chemistry	143	69.75
Physical Sciences	191	99.51
Life Sciences	57	25.47
Earth & Environmental Sciences	4	1.91

Highlight of the month

Switching energy source allows cancer cells to survive in lymph nodes

Scientists have discovered how cancer cells in mice modify their metabolism so that they can grow in lymph nodes before spreading to other organs.

One of cancer’s most insidious attributes is its ability to spread to other parts of the body. Often, lymph nodes act as a stepping stone for cancer cells to spread to other organs. But how cancer cells survive in the hostile environment of lymph nodes is poorly understood.

Now, a mouse study led by researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) has shown that tumour cells can survive in lymph nodes by switching their metabolism so that they use fatty acids as an energy source instead of glucose.

They confirmed this by showing that the spread of cancer cells to lymph nodes decreased when the oxidation of fatty acids was suppressed.

These results suggest that inhibiting fatty acid oxidation pathways is a promising avenue for suppressing the spread of cancer via the lymph nodes.

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