On February 28, Korea University (KU) hosted a special lecture under the theme “Innovation and Curiosity Driven Research” with Dr. Barry Marshall, a joint Nobel Prize-winner in Physiology or Medicine for acknowledging stomach bacterium as the primary cause of peptic ulcers. Held in partnership with the University of Western Australia, where Dr. Marshall is affiliated, the lecture was also a commemorative event for the renovation of the first building of the KU College of Medicine. Approximately 300 people, including KU President Kim Dong-one and the Dean of the College of Medicine Pyun Sung-bom, attended the lecture.
The lecturer, Dr. Barry Marshall, is renowned for discovering stomach ulcers as an infectious disease caused by Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), not stress – a finding that helped reveal the linkage between bacterial infection and stomach cancer. His research is highly influential in Korea, which has one of the world’s highest ulcer rates, with over half of its population infected with H. pylori. During the lecture, Dr. Marshall recounted his research journey, emphasizing the importance of curiosity in addressing unanswered questions for pioneering scientific discoveries.
The event is part of the Next Intelligence Forum (NIF), a series of special lectures from Nobel laureates and prominent social figures organized to celebrate the university’s 120th anniversary in 2025. Starting from June 2023, 5 special lectures have been conducted under the scope of NIF, attracting great attention from KU cohorts and the general public.
