Heo In-ji, a graduate student of JBNU from the Department of Agriculture Biology, received the Best Oral Presentation Award at the 2023 KAOA (Korean Association of Organization Agriculture) Summer Academic Conference. In this conference, Heo presented a paper titled ”Characteristics of insecticidal substances from the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium pinghaense 15R against cotton aphid in Korea”. This research serves as a foundational study for the development of biopesticide using insecticidal substances derived from entomopathogenic fungi. Under the guidance of Professor Shin Tae-young, Heo conducted research on identifying and extracting destruxin from the Metarhizium pinghaense 15R, which has a strong insecticidal activity against Aphis gossypii (cotton aphid). It has demonstrated the potential for the development of an effective biopesticide targeted specifically at the pest, Aphis gossypii. This research is being commercialized from the research group of biopesticide production supported by the Institute of Planning Evaluation for Technology in Food, Agriculture and Forestry.