FROM THE PUBLISHER
I recently read a biography of my business partner and mentor, ‘Dr. H’, a book that made me contemplate how fast time fies and how magical life is. We typically start as a dependent of a household and grow up with people and the environment surrounding us. Then accumulation of incidents, chances, and decisions bring us to where we are today. One may have an idea, a dream, a passion that he/she runs with, jumping over obstacles, tackling problems, and hoping God will support him/her. We put all of our energy into our lives until things start moving. We live every single moment of our lives, and that is what life is about.
The World Asian Medical Journal was launched several years ago. Time has passed and the journal has grown—from one cover story interviewee to more than 20 eminent thought leaders across the globe. The journal grew in reach from a handful of readers to tens of thousands of them issue by issue. We did not have all the knowledge or network from the start; the ingredients for the journal’s success were mostly our effort, partially luck, and advice from respected experts.
For this issue, we interviewed Dr. Edison Liu, the President and CEO of The Jackson Laboratory (JAX). He is globally recognized for his accomplishments in cancer biology, particularly his molecular analysis of breast cancer, and for his contribution to the global advancement of human genomics. In the interview, Dr. Liu mentioned, “there isn’t a defnite path to success but there are traits that he has found in successful people—individuals who are deemed successful over their lifetimes rather than fash-in-the-pan successes. They love what they do. They seek excellence even in the small tasks and can weave a wonderful narrative of this work. They are resilient in that failure does not alter that passion.” This message about success was especially inspiring to me, and I am confdent that Dr. Liu’s story will be an inspiration to all our readers.
This issue also features a special report introducing the upcoming “Medical Korea 2021” conference. This event is being held to share the significance of Korea’s advancing medical industry and to discuss the latest global healthcare trends. Our readers can learn more about “Medical Korea 2021” in the special report.
In addition to these two major articles, we have a rich selection of articles and reports which will bring excitement to our readers.
I hope our readers enjoy reading this edition as much as we did preparing it. Stay safe and healthy!
DoHyun Cho, PhD
Publisher
President & CEO of W Medical Strategy Group
Chairman of New York Health Forum
FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Welcome to the 23rd edition of the World Asian Medical Journal. This issue offers articles on the SARS-CoV-2 variants and their implications for vaccination, repurposed trial endpoints to assess treatments of COVID “long-haulers,” and the long-term effects of COVID-related innovation. We present a special report about KHIDI’s Medical Korea 2021 as well.
This month we are privileged to present our interview of Edison Liu, M.D., the President and CEO of The Jackson Laboratory (JAX). Founded in 1929, the mission of JAX is “to discover precise genomic solutions for disease and empower the global biomedical community in the shared quest to improve human health.” Given those objectives, JAX would have been hard-pressed to fnd a better leader than Dr. Liu.
Born into a medical family, it’s almost as though Dr. Liu’s own genome dictated that he would become a physician. After training in hematology and oncology at Stanford and pursuing postdoctoral studies in the new feld of molecular biology, he joined UNC Chapel Hill, founding its School of Public Health’s Molecular Epidemiology laboratory. Dr. Liu came to JAX in 2012, where he and his associates have enhanced the lab’s already sterling record of innovation and insight. Dr. Liu has long investigated oncogenes and their effect upon treatment and outcomes, pointing out that cancers develop numerous mutations, that themselves change over time. Dr. Liu has also pursued his interest in predictive biology—the prognosis for a given patient’s cancer, or for the next pandemic.
As one might guess, Dr. Liu has been showered with honors and accolades. An author of over 300 scientifc papers, reviews, and books, he served as president of the Human Genome Organization (HUGO) from 2007-2013, and on the boards of both the American Cancer Society and American Association for Cancer Research, which conferred on him the Rosenthal Award for the discovery that HER-2 status determines response to adjuvant chemotherapy with doxorubicin.
Dazzling though it is, Dr. Liu’s CV may not adequately convey, as our interview tries to do, the most moving parts of his story: the impact on his life of infuential mentors, his passion for a deeper understanding of cancer biology, his focus upon relieving the sufferings of patients, especially those with breast cancer, and his “determination to always ‘do Good.’” Enjoy.
Joseph P. McMenamin, MD, JD, FCLM
Editor in Chief
EVP of W Medical Strategy Group
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