PROGRAMME

Beyond the Numbers: Fostering Inclusive Excellence Through Gendered Innovations DR. LEE, Heisook GISTeR Dr. Heisook Lee is a leader in inclusive R&I, advancing the integration of sex, gender, and intersectional analysis in research. President of GISTeR and Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at Ewha Womans University, she has led global initiatives such as the Gender Summit. Her work focuses on AI for inclusive growth, gendered innovations, and science policy, informed by leadership roles in national science and technology governance.

How Sex-Aware Research Improves Scientific Discovery : from Fairness to Better Science in the AI Era DR. LEE, Suk Kyeong The Catholic University Of Korea Dr. Suk Kyeong Lee is Professor of Medical Life Sciences at the College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, where she has served as a faculty member since 1997. She received her B.S. and M.S. degrees in Pharmacy from Seoul National University and earned her Ph.D. in Molecular Pharmacology and Biological Chemistry from Northwestern University Medical School, USA. She subsequently completed postdoctoral training in Microbiology and Immunology at Northwestern University before joining The Catholic University of Korea. Her research focuses on Epstein–Barr virus (EBV)-associated malignancies, viral microRNAs, gastric cancer, and host–virus interactions. Over the past three decades, she has made significant contributions to understanding the molecular mechanisms of EBV-associated gastric cancer and the roles of EBV-encoded microRNAs in tumor progression and therapeutic responses. More recently, her work has expanded to the emerging field of sex differences in biomedical research, including the impact of sex as a biological variable (SABV) in experimental design and disease mechanisms. Beyond her research, Dr. Lee has been a leading advocate for gendered innovations and the integration of sex and gender perspectives into biomedical science. She has served in numerous leadership roles within scientific societies and national advisory committees, including Ministry of Health and Welfare Gender Equality Advisory Committee and the Korean Federation of Women’s Science and Technology Associations. She is the author of influential publications on sex-aware research, including ‘Sex as an Important Biological Variable in Biomedical Research’ and ‘It Is Time to Integrate Sex as a Variable into Preclinical and Clinical Studies’. Through her research, education, and policy activities, Dr. Lee continues to promote more rigorous, inclusive, and impactful science by advancing the integration of sex and gender considerations into biomedical research and innovation.