Shin Hee-jae named in both career-long and single-year categories for marine natural product drug research

Heo Su-jin ranks in top 1.96% in food science; combined citation count exceeds 8,200

Shin Hee-jae of the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology's Marine Bio-Resources Research Division (left) and Heo Su-jin of the Jeju Bio Research Center have been named to the "2026 World's Top 2% Scientists" list. Shin was recognized in both the career-long and single-year categories, while Heo was named in the career-long category. [Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology]
Shin Hee-jae of the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology's Marine Bio-Resources Research Division (left) and Heo Su-jin of the Jeju Bio Research Center have been named to the "2026 World's Top 2% Scientists" list. Shin was recognized in both the career-long and single-year categories, while Heo was named in the career-long category. [Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology]

Two South Korean researchers who have spent their careers searching the ocean for new drug candidates and functional food ingredients have been named among the world's top 2% scientists. Their combined work has been cited more than 8,200 times in academic literature worldwide, reflecting the international scholarly influence of research aimed at applying marine biological resources to the pharmaceutical, food and biotech industries.

The Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology announced Thursday that Shin Hee-jae of its Marine Bio-Resources Research Division and Heo Su-jin of its Jeju Bio Research Center have been included in the "2026 World's Top 2% Scientists" list, published by Stanford University and global academic publisher Elsevier.

Shin was named in both the career-long achievement and single-year categories. Heo was selected in the career-long category.

The ranking has been published annually by Stanford University researchers since 2019. It assesses the academic influence of scientists by analyzing citation records and other metrics drawn from Scopus, Elsevier's academic literature database.

The evaluation is divided into two categories: career-long achievement, which reflects a researcher's cumulative output, and single-year, which captures citation performance in 2025 alone. Researchers who rank in the global top 100,000 or in the top 2% of their respective subfield — across 174 disciplines — are included.

In the field of medicinal and biomolecular chemistry, Shin ranked in the top 1.62% on a career-long basis and the top 1.99% for the single-year category. His papers have been cited a cumulative 2,097 times, including 242 citations last year alone.

Shin's research focuses on identifying novel natural compounds from marine microorganisms and other marine sources and determining their chemical structures and biological activity. He has particularly explored the pharmaceutical potential of marine natural products that exhibit pharmacological effects such as antibacterial and anticancer properties.

Heo ranked in the top 1.96% in food science on a career-long basis. Her papers have been cited a cumulative 6,116 times, excluding self-citations.

Heo's research centers on identifying bioactive compounds from seaweed and other marine organisms and establishing their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antiviral properties. She also focuses on developing technologies to convert marine and fisheries byproducts and regionally distinctive aquatic resources into high-value food and biotech materials.

The two researchers' cumulative citation counts combine to 8,213. However, Shin's figure includes all citations, while Heo's excludes self-citations.

Building on the recognition, KIOST plans to expand international collaborative research and strengthen the prospects for industrial application of its marine biological resource findings.

"This result confirms internationally the research capabilities KIOST has consistently built in the field of marine biological resources," said KIOST President Lee Hee-seung. "We will continue to create an environment where our researchers can focus entirely on their work."


adastra@heraldcorp.com