■ ILSONG Institute of Life Science of Hallym University, the Mecca of Biomedical Science Research in Korea.

Overview: The ILSONG Institute of Life Science at Hallym University is dedicated to the investigation of biomedical science research, including the molecular and cellular bases of Aging and its related disorders, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), Viral Diseases, Neurodegenerative and Movement Disorders, and Cancers.
The ILSONG Institute of Life Science was expanded and reconstructed in 2002, upgraded from its prior status as the Institute of Environment and Life Science (established in 1994).
Currently, eight faculty members conduct research projects concerning the biomedical sciences, and they train students enrolled in the M.S. and Ph.D. programs, as well as postdoctoral fellows.
The ILSONG Institute is located in Hallym University's Pyung Chon Sacred Heart Hospital in Anyang.

Research: The ILSONG Institute of Life Science houses two national research centers and seven research laboratories.
One of two national research centers is the Korea CJD (KCJD) diagnosis center, which was selected in 2001 for support by the National Institute of Health.
The diagnosis and investigating etiologies of sporadic or familial forms of CJD in Korea are the major foci of the KCJD diagnosis center.
The other is the Life and Aging Research Center, funded since 2002, by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and by the Korean Health Industry Development Institute.
It has been granted 6 billion won, at a rate of 1 billion won per year for the length of 6 years.

More specifically, the Institute conducts five core projects, as follows:

1) To discover new aging-related genes and to study their functions;
2) To develop aging prediction indicators;
3) To inquire into the functional changes of cells incidental to aging;
4) To closely examine the anaplasia mechanism of internal organs caused by aging;
5) To develop candidate substances to resist aging and to identify their pharmacological mechanism.
In addition, another seven research initiatives include: Cellular Aging & Neurodegeneration, Statistical Genetics, Molecular Oncology, Cell Biology, Parkinson's Disease & Neurogenetics, Molecular Virology, and Molecular Neurogenetics.

Scientists in the ILSONG Institute of Life Science are engaged to investigate molecular and cellular basis of human diseases, in order to make advances that can be translated into the cures and treatments of tomorrow.

Facilities: The ILSONG Institute of Life Sciences has state-of-the-art on-site research facilities, including an Ultracentrifuge, a Chemi-Document System, High Performance Liquid Chromatography, Gas Chromatography, Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy, Inverted Fluorescence Microscopes, an Automatic DNA Sequencer, Quantitative Real-Time PCR, Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometers, Freeze Dryer, Laser Beam Densitometer, Nitric Oxide Analyzer, Fluorescence Reader, Amino-acid analyzer, Peptide synthesizer, Ultramicrotome, Microtome, Cryomicrotome, Deep freezers, Automatic Tissue Processor, Small Animal Anesthesia System, Animal Microinjection System, an Animal Care Facility for guinea pigs, mice, rats, and Drosophila.
Those facilities are operated by highly-trained scientists with Ph.D. or M.S. degrees.