Manuscripts | Neuroscience | South Korea
Zang-Hee Cho
Korea University, Korea
Professor Cho has been a pioneer in Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) since the inception of the computerized tomography (CT) in 1972. Dr. Cho developed world’s first "Ring PET" in 1975 at UCLA and its nuclear detector "Bismuth Germanate Oxide (BGO)" in 1976, both of which revolutionized modern brain-imaging. Since late 1970s, Professor Cho has been in MRI Research and developed numerous methods and algorithms related to NMR imaging.
Prof. Zang-Hee Cho graduated with B.Sc. and M.Sc. in 1960 and 1962, respectively from Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea. He continued his study at Uppsala University (Sweden) and obtained his Ph.D. in 1966 in Applied Physics. Dr. Cho had faculty positions at the University of Stockholm and University of California-Los Angeles. In 1979, Dr. Cho became a Professor of Radiology and served as a co-Director of Columbia University Imaging Center until 1984. Since 1985, Dr. Cho has been a Professor of Radiological Sciences and Psychiatry and Human Behavior and Director of MRI & NMR Research at University of California at Irvine.
Since 2005, Professor Cho resumed a Director of Neuroscience Research Institute at Gachon Medical School, Incheon, Korea where he developed world’s first ultra high field 7.0T MRI and PET Fusion Imaging system, aimed for brain science and neurological research.
Lastly, among the numerous honors and awards he have received, Dr. Cho was elected to a member of the US National Academy of Sciences-Institute of Medicine (Now National Academy of Medicine) in 1997 for his contribution to the PET development and subsequently elected to the National Academy of Sciences, Republic of Korea in 1998.
Smarter MRI Diagnosis with Nano MRI Lamp
A research team led by Jinwoo Cheon (Department of Chemistry, Yonsei University) at the Center for Nanomedicine, within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), developed the Nano MRI Lamp: a new technology platform that tunes the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) signals “ON” only in the presence of the disease target. Published in Nature Materials, this study can overcome the limitations of existing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents.
The First Neurologist in Korea: Dr. Succ-Jo Suh
Dr. Succ-Jo Suh (1921-1999) graduated in 1946 from the School of Medicine, Kyoto Prefectural University in Japan. Afterward, he returned to Korea and began his career as a medical doctor at the Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Seoul National University. Due to his enthusiastic spirit for state-of-the-art medicine, however, he flew to the United States and completed an internship at St. Barnabas Hospital in New Jersey in 1949, a residency program in Thoracic Surgery of the Rockford Niagara Sanatorium in New York in 1950, a residency program in Internal Medicine of the New Jersey City Medical Center in 1952, and finally, a residency program in Neurological Medicine at the Bellevue Hospital of Cornell University in New York in 1953, making him the first Korean neurologist. After his residency training, he began working as an instructor in the Neurology Department of Cornell University in 1954. In January 1955, at the age of 34, he was appointed as an assistant professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, Severance Union Medical College.
The Birth of Severance Hospital
Horace Newton Allen was an American Presbyterian missionary who studied medicine at Miami University. He introduced modern medical treatment to Korea through Chejungwon. B: Oliver R. Avison was a Canadian missionary and physician. He stayed in Korea from June 1892 to November 1935. He served as the Fourth General Director of Jejungwon. He laid the foundations of Yonsei University. C: Louis Henry Severance made a significant financial contribution to Chejungwon. His contribution was used to build a new Severance Hospital. After Severance’s death, his son, John Severance, also made additional financial contributions to the hospital. Permission to use this image was obtained from the Dong-Eun Medical Museum, which belongs to Yonsei University
Dr. Tai Joon Moon
Dr. Tai Joon Moon established the Department of Neurosurgery at Yonsei University, the first such department in Korea. He pioneered neurosurgery in Korea, established the Korean Board of Neurosurgery, and served as President of the Korean Neurosurgical Society, the Korean Medical Association, and the World Medical Association. He was also elected to serve as a senator in the Korean Assembly. Permission to use this image was obtained from Tai Joon Moon’s family. Figure is available in color online only