Professor Moon’s maternal-fetal health research picked for long-term state funding

Moon Joon-ho, professor of endocrinology and metabolism at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital (SNUBH), has been selected for the “Hanwoomul-Phagi Basic Research Program” for 2025, funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF). His research topic is “Effects of maternal health status during pregnancy on fetal metabolic and immune functions and strategies for fetal disease prevention.”

The Hanwoomul-Phagi Basic Research Program is a mid- to long-term research support initiative established by the Ministry of Science and ICT in 2023. It aims to enable outstanding young researchers to pursue challenging and innovative research over extended periods. Researchers within 15 years of obtaining their doctorate degrees are eligible for the program, which offers a total of 2 billion won ($1.4 million) in funding over 10 years.

Several studies have shown that when a mother suffers from gestational diabetes or pre-eclampsia, her fetus is more likely to develop metabolic diseases such as obesity and diabetes, as well as disorders such as immune diseases and neurodevelopmental conditions. However, there has been a lack of research on the precise and specific causes of these fetal health issues.

Professor Moon designed his study to explore the causal relationship between maternal health and fetal metabolism and immune function, and to discover ways to prevent and treat diseases that may develop in the fetus. The first phase (years 1–5) will identify substances from the mother that increase disease risk in the fetus. The second phase (years 6–10) will explore lifestyle and drug interventions that could reduce this risk.

“If we can understand how the fetus undergoes changes in the womb due to maternal gestational diabetes and the mechanisms that lead to complications such as metabolic and neurodevelopmental diseases, we will be able to predict possible diseases and their risks in advance,” Moon said. “Through future long-term studies, we will identify the exact causal mechanisms and develop preventive and therapeutic measures for maternal and fetal health.”

Moon is a physician-scientist who completed his doctoral program at the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at KAIST. He is actively engaged in basic and translational research to identify the causes of diabetes and metabolic diseases, as well as to develop treatments.

In particular, he is conducting various national research projects in the field of gestational diabetes and metabolic disorders, including studies on the causes of diabetes in mothers with gestational diabetes and the links between fatty liver, cardiovascular disease, and sarcopenia. He has published more than 50 books and SCI-ranked papers.