Hallym University Chuncheon Sacred Heart Hospital

Hallym University and Uppsala University established a ‘Hallym-Uppsala Joint Research Center’ in the Rudbeck Laboratory at Uppsala University, Sweden, on June 20, 2011.

The fund for establishing the center was granted by the National Research Foundation of Korea(NRF) after it had selected a joint research project led by Prof. Yong-Sun Kim of Hallym and Prof. Lars Lannfelt of Uppsala on ‘Establishing Collaborative Network for Converging Technology Research of Neurodegenerative Disease Associated with Protein Misfolding.’

At the new facility, professors of Hallym and Uppsala will carry out joint researches on neurodegenerative diseases associated with protein misfolding including Alzheimer’s, Prion and Parkinson’s diseases, PET imaging in transgenic mouse models of those diseases, and the development of biomarkers for the early detection of diseases.

Marking the opening of the center, both institutions agreed to hold annual symposiums and implement exchange programs for students and professors. They also shared opinions on further expanding joint research activities with Karolinska Institute and Lund University of Sweden and Padova University of Italy.

Uppsala University, founded in 1477, has produced many Nobel laureates and actively conducted a variety of basic and clinical researches. The Rudbeck Laboratory of Uppsala is one of the top-notch research centers in medicine and life sciences in Northern Europe.

By Sungwon Lee, Int’l Operations Team, HUMC (sungwon@hallym.or.kr)