The Center for Food and Bioconvergence builds upon the legacy of the Agricultural Bio-Materials Research Center, which led cutting-edge research in agricultural life sciences both domestically and internationally through its designation as a Science Research Center by the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation in 1991 and as a Priority Research Center by the Korea Research Foundation in 2004.

Leveraging this accumulated research capacity, the center was newly established on September 17, 2012, in response to the national agenda to advance the food and bio industries—one of the 17 strategic growth engines identified by the National Science and Technology Commission.

The center promotes innovation and sustainability in the future food industry through the convergence of biotechnology (BT), information technology (IT), and nanotechnology (NT), grounded in the expertise of faculty across a wide range of disciplines including agricultural biomaterials, functional foods, food-derived genomics and microbiome analysis, bioindustry management, and food processing technologies.

In particular, it is expanding into next-generation food- tech domains such as food microbiome-based health function analysis, AI-powered functionality prediction, reduction of hazardous compounds in food, and alternative food development, thereby contributing to personalized dietary strategies and the implementation of next-generation food systems.

Research Objectives
· Design of personalized dietary and nutrition solutions and development of precision nutrition platforms
· Development of integrated quality control technologies for reducing hazardous food components and enhancing safety
· Advancement of high-performance food production technologies through fermentation and enzymatic processing
· Establishment of AI-based systems for predicting food–host interactions and evaluating functional efficacy
· Multi-omics-based research on the interaction and health impact of bioactive food components
· Development of novel food systems and sustainable
production platforms through food-tech innovation
· Exploration of functional compounds and efficacy validation based on metabolomics and biomarker profiling

Educational Objectives
· Operation and support of multidisciplinary and convergent education programs to lead the future food and bio industries
· Training of creative and highly skilled professionals in agri-food, life sciences, and bio-health convergence fields

In addition, the center hosts annual international symposia and expert workshops to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and share cutting-edge research findings.