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KIST Recruits Internationally-renowned Brain Scientist Dr. Dennis Choi
- Date : 2013-07-31
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A world-noted authority in brain science, Dr. Dennis W. Choi was appointed as the new Director-General of the Brain Science Institute at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST, President Kil-choo Moon) on July 22. Holding concurrent positions at Stony Brook University School of Medicine in the United States and KIST, Dr. Choi will be leading research at KIST in the field of brain science for the next three years.
The appointment of Dr. Choi was a year-long process pursued by KIST. In June, KIST President Dr. Moon personally paid a visit to Stony Brook University to sign an agreement of mutual cooperation, which mainly focuses on research cooperation and personnel exchange, with his counterpart, President Samuel L. Stanley Jr.
Dr. Choi acquired his bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and a doctoral degree in pharmacology at Harvard University, and a doctoral degree in medicine at Harvard-MIT, becoming a specialist in brain sciences. He is a world-renowned scholar who formerly served as a professor at four prestigious U.S. universities and published more than 170 research papers in major academic journals, such as Science and Nature. Furthermore, he was the former President of the Society of Neuroscience, the world's largest organization in brain science, and previously served as Executive Vice President for Neuroscience in the multi-national pharmaceutical Merck Research Laboratories for five years.
Brain science research today has become a field of fierce competition among advanced countries as they announce plans to make investments equivalent to trillions of KRW, as evidenced by the Human Brain Project (HBP) led by the Europe Commission (EC) and the Brain Activity Mapping (BAM) effort led by the U.S. government. In order to keep up with this trend, Korea announced the "Second Two-phase Basic Plan to Promote Brain Research" and further seeks ways to contribute. Brain science is a major field in convergence research, and Dr. Choi is widely regarded as a leader in this field.
KIST is unrivalled in terms of research capacity and infrastructure in Korea, especially in the field of neuroscience and brain disease treatment. Some of the research accomplished at KIST have been published in renowned research journals such as Nature, Science, Cell and other various journals. In this context, the appointment of Director Choi is expected to contribute significantly to setting the direction for translational research, helping KIST commercialize its results and shorten the required time frame.
In addition, based on his rich experience and international network, Dr. Choi will be able to contribute in all cycles of research, from understanding market trends in brain disease treatments and setting the direction for basic neuroscience research, to translational research, clinical tests, and commercialization.
At present, Dr. Choi is focusing on fully understanding the status of brain science research at KIST, and later, he will be offering advice on a mid-long term strategy for domestic research in this area.
On his appointment, Dr. Choi commented, "It is an honor to be appointed the new Director-General of the Brain Science Institute at KIST. I will listen to the ideas of researchers and cooperate with them without bias and with an open mind. I agree with KIST's recognition of the importance of translational and convergence research, and will do my best to assist its research in brain science.”