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KIST's Person of the Month: Dr. Ki Duk Park (2020.03.31)
- Date : 2020-05-15
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International Cooperation Team
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KIST's Person of the Month: Dr. Ki Duk Park
This month’s KIST
Person of the Month Award was given to Dr. Ki Duk Park from the Convergence
Research Center for Dementia DTC for discovering “GABA,” a new candidate material
for spinal cord injuries and dementia.
GABA is an
inhibitory signal substance found in the central nervous systems of mammals,
which, when produced in large quantities within reactive astrocytes, can cause
memory loss or cognitive impairment.
In 2019, Dr. Ki
Duk Park published on the existence of “KDS2010,” a new candidate material
which inhibits the overproduction of GABA in the brain of a patient with
Alzheimer’s. (Science Advances, March 20, 2019: Vol. 5, No. 3, eaav0316). By
observing an animal model with spinal cord impairment to find out if KDS2010
could be applicable, Dr. Park discovered that when the spinal cord is injured,
a substance called GABA is overproduced, leading to permanent damage to the
nerves. At the same time, as KDS2010 caused the damaged spinal cord to recover,
it was also possible to identify the nerve regeneration efficacy and treatment
mechanism of KDS2010. Furthermore, the recovery efficacy and treatment
mechanism of KDS2010 were also confirmed in rehabilitation training, which was
combined with drug administration in animal models with stroke.
KIST has
transferred this technology to NeuroBiogen Co., Ltd. for KRW 200 million
(milestone set based on development and clinical progress) in advance to ensure
that the candidate materials are used for manufacturing new drugs which can be
utilized worldwide. Non-clinical trials are scheduled to be completed in the
first half of 2020, and clinical trials in the second half of the same year. In
recognition of his achievements, Dr. Ki Duk Park was therefore selected as
KIST’s Person of the Month for March 2020.
KIST’s Person of
the Month Award recognizes and rewards high achievers who contribute to the
Institute in creative, innovative ways. Winners are selected by the Reward
Deliberation Committee.