On January 11, 2017, Konkuk University announced that a joint research team by Professor Dong-Eun Kim of the Department of Integrative Bioscience and Biotechnology and Professor Hyewon Chung of the medical school identified a mechanism related to age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness among the elderly in the world. The study was published in the online version of Autophagy in an article titled “Autophagy and KRT8/keratin 8 protect degeneration of retinal pigment epithelium under oxidative stress.” PhD student Ahreum Baek, a scholarship recipient of the BK21 Plus Program, participated in the research.