-Brief Introduction of Yourself

I am Chair-Professor in the Department of Biochemistry at Wonkwang University School of Medicine and Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry at Chonbuk National University. I obtained my M.D. degree in 1977 and my Ph.D. in 1986 in Chonbuk National University. After finishing my postdoctoral research in the United States at the National Institutes of Health as a Fogarty International Fellow, I returned to join the faculty at Chonbuk National University Medical School, where I served as the chairman of the Department of Biochemistry (1997–2011) and as the director of the National Creative Research Laboratory of Ca₂₊ Signaling Network (2012–2021). My research is mainly focused on cellular signaling linked to NAD metabolism and NAD-derived Ca₂₊ signaling messengers.

 

-How did you get to know Kanazawa University?  What is your impression of the university ?

I have met Professor Haruhiro Higashida from the Research Centre for Child Mental Development of Kanazawa University since 2007, when I invited him as a guest speaker to my laboratory at Chonbuk National University. Afterwards, we have had many reciprocal visits to Korea and Japan, at which time we organized several scientific meetings together. I was impressed by both the historical background and research activities at Kanazawa University, and have come to acknowledge it as one of representative universities of Japan.

 

-List the recent activities as a Collaborative Professor.

Professor Higashida and I have organized several meetings together, including several joint NAD/CD38 meetings involving Korea, Japan, and China. We also worked together to coordinate our most recent meeting (Asian 3 Meeting NAD and CD38, Shenzhen, China, 2019 Nov. 29 – Dec. 1). We have a common interest in NAD metabolism and calcium signaling, and we have also collaborated on articles, which include publications (Neurosci Res 67 (2010) 181-191; BMC Neurosci (2017) 18:35. DOI 10.1186/s12868-017-0350-7).