Charles D. Surh was a leading scientist in the field of immunology.[2][3] He was a professor at both The Scripps Research Institute and Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), director of the Academy of Immunology and Microbiology in Pohang, and associate editor of the journal Pleura and Peritoneum.[4] He died from cancer in 2017.

Charles Surh
Born
서동철

1961
Seoul, South Korea
Died7 October 2017
Alma materUniversity of California, San Diego, University of California, Davis
AwardsHo-Am Prize in Medicine, 100 Leaders in Korea, Scientist of the Year Award
Scientific career
FieldsMemory T cells, naïve T cells, immune system, microbiota
InstitutionsThe Scripps Research Institute, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Institute for Basic Science, La Jolla Institute for Immunology
Korean name
Hangul
서동철[1]
Revised RomanizationSeo Dongcheol
McCune–ReischauerSŏ Tongch'ŏl
WebsiteAcademy of Immunology and Microbiology

Early life and education

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Charles majored in biochemistry at the University of California, San Diego for his undergrad graduating in 1983. He then went to the University of California, Davis, where he obtained his Ph.D. in immunology in 1989. He research topic was on target antigens for autoantibody formation associated with primary biliary cirrhosis.

Career

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Working as a postdoc at The Scripps Research Institute in the Department of Immunology, he researched T cells focusing on the function and structure thymus and the physiology and lifespan of mature T cells.[4] Staying at Scripps, he became an assistant professor, associate professor, gained tenure, and then a full professor. In 2009, the Korean government recruited him as part of their World Class University (WCU) program. He worked as a WCU professor in the Division of Integrative Bioscience and Biotechnology, POSTECH

From 2012 until his death in 2017, he worked as an adjunct professor in both the Department of Immunology at The Scripps Research Institute and also in the Division of Development Immunology at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology. He also started a professorship at the Division of Integrative Bioscience and Biotechnology in POSTECH. Also within POSTECH, he was the founding and only director of the Academy of Immunology and Microbiology (AIM) for the Institute for Basic Science (IBS).[5] The Academy researched chronic diseases of the immune system with the "belief that a significant proportion of the chronic diseases arise from aberrant interactions between the host’s immune systems with the components of the diet as well as with the commensal microbes that co-exist with the host."[6] After failing to find a suitable replacement, AIM closed in October 2019.

Death

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Diagnosed with cancer in early 2015, he continued his research while receiving treatment. He succumbed to the disease on October 7, 2017 in San Diego, U.S.[7]

Awards and honors

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Selected publications

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  1. Kaech, Susan M.; Tan, Joyce T.; Wherry, E. John; Konieczny, Bogumila T.; Surh, Charles D.; Ahmed, Rafi (16 November 2003). "Selective expression of the interleukin 7 receptor identifies effector CD8 T cells that give rise to long-lived memory cells". Nature Immunology. 4 (12): 1191–1198. doi:10.1038/ni1009. PMID 14625547. S2CID 8178667.
  2. Surh, Charles D.; Sprent, Jonathan (3 November 1994). "T-cell apoptosis detected in situ during positive and negative selection in the thymu". Nature. 372 (6501): 100–103. Bibcode:1994Natur.372..100S. doi:10.1038/372100a0. PMID 7969401. S2CID 4350111.
  3. Surh, Charles D.; Sprent, Jonathan (19 December 2008). "Homeostasis of Naive and Memory T Cells". Immunity. 29 (6): 848–862. doi:10.1016/j.immuni.2008.11.002. PMID 19100699.
  4. Tan, Joyce T.; Dudl, Eric; LeRoy, Eric; Murray, Richard; Sprent, Jonathan; Weinberg, Kenneth I.; Surh, Charles D. (17 July 2001). "IL-7 is critical for homeostatic proliferation and survival of naïve T cells". PNAS. 98 (15): 8732–8737. Bibcode:2001PNAS...98.8732T. doi:10.1073/pnas.161126098. PMC 37504. PMID 11447288.
  5. Tan, Joyce T.; Ernst, Bettina; Kieper, William C.; LeRoy, Eric; Sprent, Jonathan; Surh, Charles D. (17 June 2002). "Interleukin (IL)-15 and IL-7 Jointly Regulate Homeostatic Proliferation of Memory Phenotype CD8+ Cells but Are Not Required for Memory Phenotype CD4+ Cells". J Exp Med. 195 (12): 1523–1532. doi:10.1084/jem.20020066. PMC 2193564. PMID 12070280.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ 이근영 (9 October 2017). "서동철 기초과학연구원 단장 별세". The Hankyoreh (in Korean). Retrieved 29 March 2020. 찰스 서(한국이름 서동철)
  2. ^ a b "Director Charles Surh". Academy of Immunologyand Microbiology. Institute for Basic Science. Retrieved 29 March 2020. Charles Surh is a professor at POSTECH and a world-leading scientist in the field of immunology.
  3. ^ a b 이부용 (10 October 2017). "세계적 면역학자 찰스 서 IBS 연구단장 별세". 대경일보 (in Korean). Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  4. ^ a b Reymond, Marc A. (March 2018). "In memory of the late Associate Editor of the journal "Pleura and Peritoneum", Prof. Charles D. Surh". Pleura and Peritoneum. 3 (1). doi:10.1515/pp-2018-0105. PMC 6405006.
  5. ^ "교수진 Charles Surh 교수 Profile". Life Sciences. POSTECH. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  6. ^ "Introduction". Academy of Immunology and Microbiology. Institute for Basic Science. Retrieved 29 March 2020. It is our belief that a significant proportion of the chronic diseases arise from aberrant interactions between the host's immune systems with the components of the diet as well as with the commensal microbes that co-exist with the host. The genetic diversity of the commensal microbes is massive, i.e., two orders of magnitude greater than that of the host genome, and together with the large amounts of antigens in the food, the host immune system is continuously exposed to a myriad of foreign antigens.
  7. ^ a b "Director Charles D. SURH named Scientist of the Year by Journalists". Institute for Basic Science. 30 November 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  8. ^ 유용하 (15 November 2017). "올해의 과학자상에 故 찰스 서 박사". Seoul Shinmun (in Korean). Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  9. ^ 김윤진 (15 November 2017). "올해의 과학자상 찰스 서·임명신·중력파 연구단". 매일경제 (in Korean). Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  10. ^ 원호섭 (9 October 2017). "찰스 서 IBS 단장 별세". 매일경제 (in Korean). Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  11. ^ 박주영 (9 October 2017). "세계적 면역학자 찰스 서 IBS 연구단장 별세". Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  12. ^ 조진형 (9 October 2017). "세계적 면역학자 찰스 서 IBS 단장 별세". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  13. ^ 박희진 (9 October 2017). "'호암 의학상' 찰스 서 IBS단장 겸 포스텍 교수 별세". News1뉴스 (in Korean). Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  14. ^ "면역세포 간 생존 경쟁이 면역계 균형 유지: IBS, 희소한 선천성 림프 세포가 다수 T세포와 경쟁·공생하는 관계 밝혀". Nobel Science (in Korean). 23 August 2017. Archived from the original on 2 March 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2020.