On May 31, 2023, IBS Bio & Brain Forum: Paradigm Shift in Treatment Strategies for Dementia and Cancer was held as a special session at the 2023 Seoul Forum. The event took place in the Walker Hill Hotel in Seoul, South Korea.

Seoul Forum is an annual international conference hosted by Seoul Economic Daily, which is South Korea's pioneering economic newspaper. The first Seoul Forum was held by the press in 2010 to mark its 50th anniversary. Seoul Forum focuses on discussing and addressing various global development issues, bringing together policymakers, experts, academics, and representatives from various sectors to exchange ideas, share experiences, and explore innovative approaches to development challenges. Every year the forum is held under different themes, with past discussions involving sustainable development, poverty reduction, education, health, climate change, and technology.

The theme of the 2023 Seoul Forum primarily focused on the advancement of biotechnology and the impact such technology will have on society. Renowned biologists from around the world, including three from the IBS spoke at the IBS Bio & Brain session.

In this session, IBS Director C. Justin LEE from the Center for Cognition and Sociality gave a presentation on reactive astrocyte research as a paradigm shift in dementia treatment. He stated that the failures of amyloid-hypothesis-based drugs in the past mean that the academia and pharmaceutical industry must reevaluate their theory behind the mechanism of Alzheimer’s disease progression.

Meanwhile, Director MYUNG Kyung Jae and Associate Director Orlando SCHÄRER from the Center for Genomic Integrity presented their recent research on DNA repair and cancer. Director Myung introduced a novel approach named CINDELA, which can destroy specific cancer cells by using CRISPR-Cas9 to cause DNA breaks in their genome. Associate Director Schärer proposed a method of using cytotoxic drugs to exploit the vulnerabilities in tumor with defects in DNA repair pathways.

IBS President NOH Do Young said, “Basic science may appear to be irrelevant to our lives, but in order for new drugs to be developed, it is necessary to understand the basic biological mechanisms as a foundation. I hope that more people can realize the importance of basic science.“

Participants at the IBS Bio & Brain forums at Walker Hill Hotel, Seoul