CHA Medical Group, Led By Kwang Yul Cha, Build South Korea's Largest Stem Cell Institute In Pangyo Techno Valley

Main Category: Stem Cell Research
Article Date: 24 Nov 2006 - 0:00 PDT

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Although 'Hwang Woo-suk's stem cell fraud scandal' shattered Korean hopes to emerge as a bioscience hub, Korea continues to strive to become the world's leading stem cell researcher. To maintain the bioscience boom, CHA Medical Group(representative: Kwang Yul Cha) is eager to expand support for science and have notched up research successes that can actually be applied to patients.

As a first step towards the building of the 'CHA Group Stem Cell Institute', it was agreed, on November 16, to build it at the site of the Kyunggi-do Corporation. The institute, when completed, will be the nation's largest stem cell institute, equippes with stem cell research, treatment and educational facilities.

The CHA Medical Group (representative: Kwang Yul Cha) aims build the institute in the Pangyo Techno Valley, with a floor space of 20,000 pyeong in 'Pangyo Techno Valley', 200,000 pyeong researching and development complex. And it is scheduled to open in 2010.

(A pyeong is aKorean unit of measurement corresponding to 3.31 square metres)

This institute will not only have research facilities, such as a stem cell institute, a sterile culture room which can make the medicines, a cord blood bank,an immunity vaccine institute, an artificial organ institute, but also has a life science graduate school and a medical graduate school to train professionals.

The Stem Cell Institute will be equipped with a Lab-to-Patient System which can carry out clinical demonstrations at Bundang CHA Hospital (representative: Kwang Yul Cha) immediately from latest research.

Hyung Min Chung, representative of CHA Biotech, said, "We are creating this institute to become the world's stem cell institute through a joint research with prominent centers around the world. We have plans to expand abroad with stem cell treatment technology in the field of bioscience." Hence, last year, Prof. Kwang Soo Kim, Harvard Medical School, has been appointed as Chief of Joint Research and a Distinguished Professor at Pochon CHA University (representative: Kwang Yul Cha).

Prof. Kim said, "Although the team from Dr. Hwang's research fell through, there are few nations like Korea that have such wide experience and know-how. We'll make Korea the hub of stem cell research." He added, "Now Harvard University, USA, the Roslin Institute, UK and the Shanghai Stem Cell Institute, China, are in hot pursuit. So we should forge ahead with serious research again."

Prof. Kim is one of the greatest scholars in the field of stem cell specialization research. After holding a PH.D. in KAIST, he was the professor at Cornell University.

CHA Medical Group
http://www.chamc.co.kr