You are welcome to attend the Seminar. Please find the details below:

Date: 23 June, 2025 (Monday)
Time: 4:00pm-6:00pm (registration starts at 3:30pm)
Venue: Lecture Theatre 1, 1/F, HKUMed Academic Building, 3 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong
Fee: Free of Charge
Enquiry: Tel: 81000538；Email: scmevent@hku.hk
Registration: HERE

Speaker:
Professor Young-Joon Surh
Chair of Division of Medical Sciences
Korean Academy of Science & Technology
Professor of Seoul National University

Moderator:
Professor Feng Yibin
Professor, Director of the School of Chinese Medicine, HKU
Director of the Centre of Integrative Medicine, HKUSCM

Abstract:

Oxidative stress has been implicated in various pathological conditions including cancer. However, the human body has an intrinsic ability to fight against oxidative stress. Transcriptional activation of genes encoding antioxidant enzymes by NF-E2 related factor 2 (Nrf2), a member of the cap‘n’collar family of basic leucine zipper transcription factors, protect cells and tissues from oxidative damage. Many chemopreventive and chemoprotective natural products including those derived from dietary and medicinal plants have been found to enhance cellular antioxidant capacity through activation of Nrf2. A new horizon in chemoprevention research is the recent discovery of molecular links between inflammation and cancer. Aberrant activation of NF-κB and STAT3 involved in mediating inflammatory response has been implicated in carcinogenesis. It is noteworthy that there is a good correlation between anti-inflammatory activity of some chemopreventive/cytoprotective agents and their ability to induce antioxidant gene expression. In this context, it is interesting to note that Nrf2 plays a role in protecting cells from not only oxidative stress but also inflammatory insult. This lecture will highlight modulation of pro- or anti-inflammatory as well as anti-oxidant signaling by some cancer chemopreventive and other health beneficial natural products and underlying molecular mechanisms.

About the Speaker:

Prof. Young-Joon Surh graduated from College of Pharmacy, Seoul National University with Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. He gained a PhD degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and had postdoctoral training at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Prof. Surh then served as Assistant Professor at Yale University School of Medicine before he relocated to Korea. His research focuses on the molecular mechanisms of cancer chemoprevention with natural products. Prof. Surh is currently Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Cancer Prevention; Associate Editor of Toxicology & Applied Pharmacology, Molecular Carcinogenesis, and Free Radical Research; Honorary Editor of Journal of Traditional & Complementary Medicine; and Editorial Board member of International Journal of Cancer, Cancer Letters, Free Radical Biology & Medicine, Antioxidants & Redox Signaling, Genes & Disease, Genes and Nutrition, Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, and many others. Prof. Surh has published more than 450 papers in peer-reviewed international journals. The total number of citations of his publications is over 30,000 with H-Index over 90. Thomson Reuter selected him as one of the 16 most highly cited Korean scientists. Prof. Surh received Elizabeth C. Miller and James A. Miller Distinguished Scholar Award from Rutgers University, McCormic Science Institute Award from American Society for Nutrition, the Korea Science Award given by the President of South Korea, and many more. He is a member of the Korean Academy of Science and Technology.