School of Dentistry, Seoul National University

Ceremony for the Contribution of Photo Artwork and Donation by Chang-Joon Yim (34th class of graduation)
At 4 pm on July 9th (Thursday), alumni Chang-Joon Yim (34th class of graduation) made a contribution of photo artworks worth 5 million won (approximately $4200) in addition to donating 5 million won to the SNUSD 100th Anniversary Commemoration fund at the Dean’s office. Alumni Chang-Joon Yim said, “Thank you for giving me the opportunity to hold an exhibition at my alma mater. It was a great opportunity to reflect on myself as I was preparing for the exhibition. This time for self-reflection was a valuable opportunity to pioneer new things in the future.” Jung-Suk Han, Dean of SNUSD showed his appreciation by saying, “I would like thank the respected alumnus Chang-Joon Yim from the bottom of my heart in providing the opportunity for his fellow alumni and school members to appreciate his works. Our alumni have shared their various talents as we prepare for the 100th Anniversary Commemoration of SNUSD and we value their contribution. I hope that alumnus Chang-Joon Yim’s work will continue to bring great energy in life.” The "Alumni Invitational Exhibition for the 100th Anniversary Commemoration of SNUSD- Chang-Joon Yim Alumni Edition -" was held on the 1st and 2nd floors of the main building for 3 months starting from April 9th. The exhibition provided an opportunity for all visitors to SNUSD to appreciate the photo artworks.

Seoul National University '10-10 Project' Kicks Off
Seoul National University School of Dentistry (SNUSD), which is about to celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2022, is the oldest and largest dental education institution in Korea. The school continually nurtures excellent dentists and conducts countless research by utilizing cutting-edge dental technology. Along with Seoul National Dental Hospital, SNUSD also has the capability to provide health care that meets the global standards. SNUSD has been ranked within the top 30 dental education institutions in the QS World University Rankings in recent years. At the present time, where the internationalization of universities is being emphasized, the fact that it has consistently ranked highly in the international ranking system as a non-English speaking country should be highly commended. Since 2018, SNUSD has been striving to enhance its internationalization capabilities through the SNU World Leading Project. SNUSD intends to implement two goals in detail through the SNU 10-10 project. ■ First in order to raise its international reputation, SNUSD intends to build a SNU Dentistry Portal Hub to enhance internationalization as a global exchange site for all information related to dentistry education and research. ■ Second, as a way to strengthen research competitiveness through fostering future generations of scholars from a long-term perspective, SNUSD will form a Recruting Advisory Committee in which world-renowned scholars will participate. Additionally, it plans to promote ways to secure competitiveness by advancing the department's curriculum to be integrated. SNUSD plans to focus on the capabilities of all members and utilize it to become one of the world's top 10 dental education institutions until 2030 with the support of Seoul National University's 10-10 project.

Exhibition by Alumnus Chang-Joon Yim (34th class) to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of SNUSD
On May 14th(Thurs), 2020 SNUSD held an event to get a chance to talk to alumnus Chang-Joon Yim, who is the artist for the SNUSD 100th anniversary commemoration exhibition. This year's alumni exhibition was held for the second time since last year to communicate with the society in light of the 100th anniversary of SNUSD and also provide school members with a chance to appreciate great pieces of art. Alumnus Chang-Joon Yim said, “First of all, I am deeply grateful to my alma mater that provided me with an opportunity to introduce my work. I hope that those who view these works will be inspired and become rejuvenated by them.” Dean Jung-Suk Han of SNUSD thanked alumus Yim by exclaiming “Thank you for giving us a chance to appreciate a good work. I hope to that the 100th anniversary of SNUSD will serve as an opportunity to communicate with fellow alumni and the society.”

Development of Radioprotectant against High Level Exposure to Radiation
Development of nanoparticles that removes the reactive oxygen caused by diagonal radiation exposure - Minimized side effects by administering low doses… Expected to be used in wide ranges as radiation protection agents- - Joint research by IBS-Seoul National University, selected for the cover of the international academic journal Advanced Materials- A protective agent that can protect the whole body from high-dose radiation has been developed. Professor Kyungpyo Park from SNUSD collaborated with Professor Taeghwan Hyeon of the IBS Project Group and developed nanocrystal that can remove excess reactive oxygen species (ROS) caused by irradiation with low doses. The result of the study was released online in a prestigious international journal called the 'Advanced Materials (IF 27.398)' and it will be published as a cover article in the August issue. Professor Kyungpyo Park and his advisee doctoral student Mr. Sang-woo Lee participated in the research as lead authors. As the use of radiation in medical fields such as diagnostics and anti-cancer treatments has increased, development of drugs to reduce side effects from radiation exposure has been actively underway worldwide. When human body is exposed to high levels of radiation, a massive amount of ROS are generated within milliseconds (ms‧1000th of a second) due to the decomposition of water molecules. Excessive reactive oxygen species causes damage to cells and in severe cases can lead to death. Therefore, the fundamental method to protect the human body from radiation is through minimizing damage to stem cells by rapidly removing excess ROS generated by radiolysis. Amifostine is currently the only radioprotectant approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but it is only limited to prevent damage to the salivary glands, not the whole body. Moreover, it may cause side effects due to toxicity. In addition, the effect of the drug is only significant when administered at a high concentration. Even when it was administered in high dosage, the effect was decomposed within 30 minutes limiting its use. To overcome these limitations, the researchers began studying protective agent that reduces side effects while protecting the whole body from radiation. The researchers first paid close attention to nanoparticles capable of removing ROS. Cerium oxide (CeO2) and manganese oxide (Mn3O4) have been known to be effective in reactive oxygen species -related diseases such as septicaemia, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's. However, when applied at high level to be used as radioprotectant, it may cause toxicity in the body. Thus, minimizing the dosage was the key solution. The researchers resolved this problem by improving the ability to remove ROS by controlling the structure of the nanoparticles. They developed nanocrystals by growing manganese oxide (Mn3O4) nanocrystals on top of the Cerium oxide (CeO2) nanocrystals. Due to the difference in lattice parameters between the two nanoparticles, it resulted in synergistic effect of the strain generated on Mn3O4. Thus increasing oxygen vacancy on the CeO2 surface and improving the surface binding affinity of the ROS. This new CeO2/Mn3O4 hetero-structured nanocrystals have up shown up to 5 times higher antioxidant performance than CeO2 or Mn3O4. The research team checked the safety, as well as effectiveness of this new antioxidant nanocrystals using acute radiation model of human intestinal organoids. The side effects caused by radiation such as DNA damage, apoptosis, and stress were dramatically improved by the administration of nanocrystals, additionally the expression of genes related to cell regeneration increased. Animal experiments have proven that the protective effect is high even with low doses of nanocrystals. In a mouse study, the CeO2/Mn3O4 nanocrystals significantly increased the survival rate of the animals that were exposed to high-dose radiation with a fatality rate of 100% to 67% with only very small dose (1/360 of Amifostine injection dose). This survival rate is about 3.3 times higher than that of amifostine. Additionally, it was also found to decrease the oxidative stress to internal organs, circulation, and bone marrow cells, without any significant signs of toxicity. Professor Kyungpyo Park stated, “We focused on maintaining high catalytic efficacy in low doses to ensure a safe and wide application of a radioprotectant in the clinic. The newly developed nanocrystals have been shown outstanding ROS scavenging abilities while minimizing stem cell damage in various parts of organs within the body that have been exposed to radiation. The result of our research is expected to be widely used not only in future cancer patients, but also in nuclear-related industries where there is always a risk of radiation exposure.”

Ceremony Held to Appoint the Honorary Chairpersons for the 100th Anniversary Commemoration Committee
At the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas on July 7, 2020 (Tuesday), at 6pm, the two alumni Young-kyun Shin (Graduated from the 9th class) and Chan Suk Kim (Graduated from the 14th class) was appointed as ‘Co-honorary chairpersons of the 100th Anniversary Commemoration Committee. Founded as Kyeongseong Dental School in 1922, Seoul National University School of Dentistry, will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2022. Dean Jung-Suk Han of SNUSD delivered his opening remarks by saying, “I am grateful to have appointed two alumni with such great qualities as honorary chairpersons of the 100th Anniversary Commemoration Committee. I believe that the history of SNUSD is the history of Korean dentistry. I will try my hardest to organize our history well with the help of our two honorary chairpersons in order to bring further development upon SNUSD.” President of Seoul National University Dental Hospital (SNUDH) Young Ku said, “We are honored to appoint Young-kyun Shin, who has left great achievements in society along with Chan Suk Kim a great role model for female dentists to become the honorary chairpersons. SNUDH will also celebrate its 100th anniversary 2 years after SNUSD. I hope to invited these two honored guests to that event as well.” The president of the General Alumni Committee Hee Un Park said, “We feel confident to have such great alumni as our honorary chairpersons. I know that the school has been putting countless effort in preparing for the 100th Anniversary Commemoration. The General Alumni Committee will also help in every way possible to make the event successful.” Young-kyun Shin, alumni appointed as co-honorary chairpersons, delivered his remarks by saying “I feel very responsible as an honorary chairperson in such a meaningful event. After serving as a naval surgeon, I opened ‘Dongnam Dental Clinic.’ From college, I devoted my passion to drama and eventually came to this place. I was recognized and respected in the film industry because of my background as a dentist. I am still proud to be a dentist. I will be sure to aid in the preparation process of the 100th anniversary commemoration with everyone who are here today.” Alumni Chan Suk Kim said “I was always grateful to be a dentist my whole life. I think the best thing I did in my life was attending School of Dentistry. I always have a sense of attachment to my alma mater and am happy to see it advance. I hope that there will be great progress made with everyone working hard to bring improvement.” Alumni, Young-kyun Shin graduated from the 9th class and has starred in more than 300 films including the famous The Red Scarf. He served as chairperson of the Korean Film Association, SBS Production, and was once a member of the National Assembly. He also received the Lifetime achievement award at the Daejong Film Awards in 2020. Alumni Chan Suk Kim graduated from the 14th class and has served as the chairperson of the Chung Ah Dental Hospital, the Korean Women Dental Association, the president of the General Alumni Association of Kyunggi Girls' High School, the president of the General Alumni Committee of the Seoul National University School of Dentistry, and the vice president of the Seoul National University Alumni Association.

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School of Dentistry, Seoul National University