Government to invest ₩87 bil. to train 80 physician scientists this year
The government will invest 86.7 billion won ($59.1 million) to train 80 physician-scientists this year.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Health Industry Development Institute held the “2025 Convergence-type Physician Scientist Training Program” completion ceremony on Thursday at the Nine Tree ROKAUS Hotel in Yongsan-gu, Seoul.
Physician scientists are key human resources who can drive the biomedical industry and improve public health by connecting clinical needs with technology development. The ministry has supported the training program since 2019, producing 68 physician scientists.
At this year's completion ceremony, 28 physician scientists with research capabilities through full-time doctoral programs in basic medicine and engineering were presented with certificates.
The graduates are pursuing their careers in domestic and overseas research centers, including Seoul National University and Harvard University, working in hospitals while conducting research, or starting their own businesses.
The government aims to increase physician scientists from 1.6 percent of medical graduates to 3 percent, the level of advanced countries, by providing step-by-step support to foster innovative talents specializing in convergence and convergence in the healthcare field. This includes support for growth in undergraduate, master's, doctoral, and postdoctoral research and support for global collaborative research.
Accordingly, 86.7 billion won will be invested in training physician-scientists this year to support three undergraduate and five graduate consortia and 80 new master's and doctoral students.
In addition, to help doctoral scientists grow into independent researchers, the government will support 92 people in three stages -- budding, advanced, and leader -- and select 31 projects to strengthen the global capabilities of physician scientists.
“Physician scientists are convergence-type talents who explore problems encountered in the clinical field in the laboratory and bring out medical innovations that can return scientific discoveries to patients,” said Jung Eun-young, director-general of the ministry’s Health Industry Policy Bureau.
Physician scientists are essential not only for improving the public's health but also for driving Korea's bio-medical industry, Jung said, adding that the government would continue to provide the necessary support for physician scientists to play an active role in various fields.