Professor Hwang to Announce Yet Another Great Achievement

Following last year, once again, Hwang Woo-seok (52), a chair professor of Seoul National University, is expected to announce yet another research achievement of his that will surprise the world this year.

Professor Hwang said on May 12 that within this year, he will reveal his team’s new research result, including therapeutic stem cell research, research on cloned pigs for xenotransplantation, and that his team approached the research from a unique point of view totally different from that of the past.

Professor Hwang added that his team will announce a thesis in a world-renowned journal, but he can’t tell details as publishing it has not yet been confirmed.

The research team led by Hwang published its achievement of extracting stem cells from cloned human embryos in the U.S. scientific magazine “Science” in February last year.

It is forecasted that Professor Hwang’s team will announce experiment results in which the team minimized the immunity rejection by transplanting a combination of pig internal organ and human stem cell into an animal.

If the above-mentioned matter is recognized in the scientific circles, the “bio-organ era,” which could advance treating incurable diseases, is expected to make a remarkable advance.

wolfkim@donga.com